My employer requires that everyone come in 10 minutes early, but does not pay us for this time. Is that legal?

vincenzo12485

Most certainly you should be paid for ALL the time you put into a job, especially if you are paid hourly. Like another poster had said, if this 10 minutes a day is multiplied out times 5 days you have 50 minutes, almost a full hour that you are not getting paid. Whether you are making 5 dollars or 20 an hour, after a week, a month and a year it begins to add up. This is money owed, time you are putting into a job and you are not getting paid for. Not only should you speak to your supervisor and others i charge you should most certainly contact your attorney general and the labor division in your area. NEVER work for free, you're a professional in an industry with a skill. Utilize what you have, don't sell yourself short!

Yellow Mochiko

I don't know for sure - but I think it depends on your employment contract and the basic employment law in your country. So you need to check both.

I am based in Australia, and we have the basic areas that employers cannot take away from us (minimum leaves etc etc etc). But my own employment contract also says, among others, every so often my employer can ask me to do overtime, of which I will not be paid. My employer, according to the contract, will endeavour to keep it at minimum, but there is no exact number of hours, how many hours are considered minimum.

I didn't use to think much of it - until lately when I got picked up and was given a formal warning for receiving personal emails at work. I thought - sh&t I have no hesitation to give up my hours to work without pay (and we are talking about 2 hours every day for 3 years here), and now you pick on me for receiving personal emails (which I didn't even reply - and we are talking about emails without any attachments).

Someone wise told me - if you give extra to your (bad) employers, they will just take take take and take some more. And even until you scream, they will still take some more. And a lot of the time - it is legal for them to do so.

leysarob

If you are working, they must pay you for that time. If the reason you come in is to get briefed on the previous shift, then you are working. Therefore you must be clocked in and be paid for that time.

However, just to be certain, double check with your state's department of labor website. There may be allowences for your particular job or employer.

Then if you still have questions, call the state department of labor, wage and hour division and simply ask. Your employer may owe back time and penalties for not paying for those 10 minutes per day.

boomer gal

Usually at a hosptital, there is an overlap scheduled. The night shift is scheduled to work till 7:30 & the day shift comes in at 7. This, in theory, allows time for shift report. But at 7, you are expected to hit the ground running, so most staff come in 5 or 10 minutes early to be sure they are ready. I think unless you are working at a really low level job,it is more or less an expectaton that you will be there a few minutes early, but as to whether or not it is legal to require, that I do not know.

sarah c

I am not sure but that sounds wrong!!!

Desert Eagle

No. Be your own boss. Get another job.

hamrrfan

I have been an RN since 1975. Health care facilities do have some exemptions to these types of work place regulations. Patient care demands are continuous, as compared to many jobs that you can shut down briefly or wait to finish tomorrow.

Health care workers vary in preference. Some do not like staying late, others do not like to come in early. I am surprised a health care facility gives smoking breaks.

Many facilities will not pay overtime for nurses to chart. They claim they should not pay for inefficiency. That of course does not take in account short staffing or unusual incidents. Hospitals cannot predict busy times like other businesses can. So they cannot high extra workers to cover extra expected demand. Also insurance companies and state agencies are slow to pay, and both insist that everything charged for, including wages, has to be justified to their standards.

If you have a bargaining agent you can bring it up with them. Otherwise contact your state labor relations board. I cannot give you a specific answer. I think that we do get a raw deal much of the time. I do not know how we can balance all the demands.

Judy

It's not legal. Federal law requires that you are paid for the time you are required to be there. and also requires pay for brief breaks - they aren't required to pay you for lunch breaks though.

TMSG (aka MissM)

Have you asked your employer why you are not compensated for the extra time? It's a simple question, but I've seen many workplaces follow a "norm" and no one asks the basic question of "why?".

toetagme

If you had told us your state, I could have given you the phone number and web site to contact them. Alas, you didn't.

This is a violation of federal law. Contact the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Dept. They will get you back pay and see that you are paid in the future. Any time you are required by your employer to be there, they must pay you. That 10 minutes adds up to 50 minutes per week at time and 1/2 if it is over 40 hours.

i believe it is against the law

Meghan

Definitely illegal...remember the fiasco a year or two ago with Walmart? It came out that they were having employees work overtime/come in early, and not on the clock.

danny14551

It sounds like you are in a health care setting, and if you are they have so lee-way and it would be legal. Also, stop listening to your friends, she will get you fired. Sounds like she wants you to do her complaining for her. There is no law saying you get a smoking break--by law all they have to offer you is a 1/2 unpaid break every 4 hours--so your jobs sounds pretty good.

john

we are required to be at work 10 min. early and walk the plant and check equipment and clock in no earlier or later than 7 til and be in an employee meeting talking about problems they had the night before, then at end of shift we dont get done til 7 min. after our shift ends but we cant clock out any later than 7 after or we are written up for clocking out late (tardy) but since there is a 7 minute window we dont get paid overtime and that is the reason we cant clock in or out at the 8 minute mark. would this be considered overtime and being wrongly diseplined for being considered tardy.

cpoores

They can legally ask you to come in early as long as they are not asking you to do work. Turnover is talk and briefing time widely used. work time is doing the task in performance of your job duties. during turnover it is as though you come in for a cup of coffee and getting ready to do your duties. If you stay over talking, that too is different than performing your assigned tasks.

WhiteRaven

No it is not legal. Your services cost money. Coming in 10 min early would be a service, if they don't pay you for that time its stealing from you.

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