Know Your Rights--Blackberry, PDA and Cell Phone Usage May Lead to Overtime Pay
In today’s modern workplace, most employees own, or are given, technological devices—laptop computers, Blackberry’s, PDA’s and cell phones—that enable them to stay in touch with their employer around the clock. If an employer requires an employee to check those devices during non-working hours, however, the employer may be liable for overtime pay.
The Fair Labor Standard Act generally requires covered employers to pay at least the federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay of time and a half for all hours worked in excess of forty per week. The FLSA exempts certain categories of employees from this requirement, such as administrative, executive and professional employees. Most employees who earn an hourly wage fall outside these categories and are considered “non-exempt.” Generally, non-exempt employees must be paid for all hours worked. An employee who isn’t compensated for all hours worked can claim two to three years of back overtime or wages.
A consensus is developing that employees who are required to monitor their cell phones or PDA’s during non-working hours should be compensated for that time. Although the issue, like the technology that spawned it, is fairly new, many legal scholars and commentators anticipate that courts will side with employees and hold that time spent monitoring emails or voice messages counts as time spent working under the FLSA.
