Should You Get Paid Even When You Aren’t Working?

Laws are in place requiring employers to pay employees for time they aren’t working, depending on the nature of the job and the requirements. Essentially, an employer must compensate an employee when their time is spent for the benefit of the employer and under their control. Example of these types of situations include traveling for work, hours spent on-call and even sleeping in some situations. If you feel like you should be compensated for activities like these, but aren’t, employment lawyers in NYC can help. Here’s what you need to know about these scenarios.

Getting Paid to Sleep

For jobs requiring 24-hour shifts, you may be entitled for compensation as you sleep. Employers and employees may agree upon an eight-hour window in which the employee can sleep on-site. In certain instances, if this window for sleep is uninterrupted by the job, then the employee may not be entitled to compensation. However, if the employee only gets a few hours of sleep before job duties call to interrupt, then they may get paid for those few hours of sleep. The details of these situations can be tricky, and most of the time requires a New York attorney to straighten them out.

On-Call Wages

An employee may be entitled to compensation for hours not worked if they are on-call. Most of the time, it’s required for an employee to either be on the premises or be restricted in the type of activities they can do. Some of these restrictions include:

  • Having to be within a certain distance of your job location
  • Not drinking alcohol during a certain timeframe
  • Not being able to work for other employers during a certain timeframe

Lawyers in NYC deal with these kinds of cases every day and each one is unique. It’s difficult to determine whether you are entitled to on-call pay unless you contact a lawyer for an evaluation.

Travel Pay

Employees are not entitled to compensation for travel to and from their job location. However, if the location is outside of the normal location, then there are situations where you could be paid for the time traveling to it. If the nature of your job requires you to visit multiple locations in a day, then you will likely have to be paid for this time. A New York attorney can sort any of these potential issues out if you feel like you’re being unfairly compensated.

Gordon & Gordon knows how important it is to hire the perfect New York attorney to represent you in your wage law case. Every case is unique and our experienced team will ensure you receive every dollar you are owed by your employer. To learn more about how we can help you with your case, contact us today to set up a free evaluation.