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Q.Do On Call employees have to be paid for the time spent waiting to work?
A.Generally, employees who are "On Call" must only be paid for the time when they are called in to work. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires waiting time to be paid only if the employee must remain on, or so close to, the employer’s premises that the employee could not use the time effectively for his or her own personal purposes.
To determine whether an employee must be paid for time spent On Call, the courts typically apply a seven factor test: (1) whether there was an on-premises living requirement; (2) whether there were excessive geographic restrictions on the employee’s movements; (3) whether the frequency of calls was unduly restrictive; (4) whether a fixed time limit for response was unduly restrictive; (5) whether the On Call employee could easily trade On Call responsibilities; (6) whether use of a pager could ease restrictions; and (7) whether the employee had actually engaged in personal activities during the On Call time period.
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