on-call employees

WBartlett · November 2003

We have on-call investigators. They are not allowed to consume alcohol when they are subject to call out. We do not pay them any on-call pay. Once they get called in, they are paid as required by FLSA. Has anyone run across the alcohol limitation as being one that restricts the employee from pursuing personal things while on call.

Hatchetman · November 2003

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 11-12-03 AT 12:15PM (CST)[/font][br][br]Why not just prohibit them from reporting to work in an intoxicated state or under the influence of alcohol or drugs, even when called backed to work? That way you're not directly prohibiting off the job conduct but are concentrating on their ability to function on the job. It's up to the employee then to decide on to manage the requirement to report in a "not under the influence" state.

Since the criterion of whether the on-call time needs to be compensated as work time is the degree of "freedom" or unrestrictiveness the time has, clearly the more restrictions that are placed on the on-call time the more likely that it can be argued to be compensable.

I do doubt, however, that just having the "prohibition" by itself, even though I don't agree with that approach, would constitute a restriction that warrants the on-call time to be compensated.

on-call employees

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