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Unpaid Work Time Legal? (Texas)

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sadele89

Junior Member
I just started working part time at a graphic design company (today was my first day). I've was told that only hours spent working directly on a project can be logged, since this is time that can be billed to the client. So the time spent between walking into the office and setting up the workstation (figuring out what projects actually need to get done) or any time transitioning between projects cannot be logged on time sheets. This probably will add up to only about 10 minutes a day, but that totals out to 35 hours a year of unpaid time!

Other people working in the office said there is a lot of time that they don't get paid for. I can't believe that those people are okay with just giving away their time. If this really is the case, I don't think I'll be sticking around for very long. However, I do need the job. :/

They said they've confronted the company owner about this and she simply suggests putting that time towards the clients under some generic item they won't notice. They don't actually do it, though. But all of this seems completely unfair to both the employees and the clients.

I was wondering if this practice is legal in Texas, as far as unpaid time? I've tried looking for answers online regarding Texas labor laws but can't really find anything that answers my question.
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
If you are a non-exempt employee, you must be paid for all the time you actually work, and overtime if you work more than 40 hours a week. If you are a non-exempt employee and you are not paid for all the time you work, you can file a wage claim with the TWC.

If you are an exempt employee, your salary covers all the time you work, no matter how much or how little. There are no circumstances whatsoever under which a salaried exempt employee is due by law a single penny over and above their regular salary, even if they work 168 hours per week.
 

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