On Call 24x7 without On-Call Compensation

[davidlt77]

What is the name of your state? Florida

I work in IT, and I'm paid hourly. On-call restrictions have gotten increasingly worse, and I've never experienced such restrictions in any other job. Following are my two situations:

1. Two of us perform the same task, and we have Blackberries for people to contact us. Whenever one of us goes out of the county for the weekend, the other is required to stay within the county and be available. We are not allowed to both be out of the county at the same time. We can go to movies, dinner, etc., but we must drop everything if we get a call. Of course, we aren't compensated for the dinner or movie we had to leave, and we are not compensated for being on call while the other person is out of town.

2. The company is performing fiscal year-end work, and we're each now required to be on call 24x7 until at least February. We are free to do what we want, but we are to drop everything if we get a call. Again, if we're at dinner or a movie, we're to leave without being reimbursed for our loss, and we are not compensated for being on call.

In both cases, any time worked is paid at time and a half, but there is no other compensation for being available.

Are the actions of my employer legal? It seems that if I'm expected to be available--even though I can leave my house--that it's not right for them to not provide on-call compensation.

 

[Beth3]

1. The on-call time is almost certainly not compensible because you are free to go about your regular life while on-call. You can go to the movies, have dinner, go shopping, see friends and family, etc. Whether on-call time is compensible is determined by how restrictive the employee's movements are during that time.

2. That's the way on-call works. When the call comes, you drop what you're doing and respond - either in person if necessary or via the phone/computer. The company has no legal obligation to reimburse you for the dinner or movie you had to bolt from.

Yes, it's legal. Based on what you have posted, the only time you would have to be compensated for is the time you actually respond to a call. Individuals in exempt positions need not be provided any additional compensation at all.

If you don't care for the terms of your employment, you're free to find a new job elsewhere.

 

[davidlt77]

Actually, I'm an hourly employee--not exempt. Does this change anything?

 

[davidlt77]

Additionally, even though I'm allowed to go shopping, etc., I am expected to drop everything and respond immediately, and I'm not allowed to leave the county to visit relatives, go to a theme park, etc. Is the answer still the same?

As a comment to restriction #1 in my original post, I hardly find it fair that half my life I cannot leave the county, and I'm not compensated for it. If what you're saying is true, then I indeed need to seek other employment.

 

[Beth3]

Yes, the answer is still the same. You may not be able to go out of the county when you're on call but you are still free to engage in all the other regular activites you would customarily do.

You're free to call your State's Department of Labor if you'd like to verify what I've told you.

Before you jump ship for another company, being on call is the name of the game for many individuals who work in IT - whether you're the CIO, Help Desk Specialist, PC/LAN Coordinator, DBA, etc. You may find that many other potential opportunities will involve on call time.

 

[davidlt77]

I've been in IT for over ten years, and I've been on call most of the places I've worked, oftentimes working a lot of off-hours time. However, I've never worked anywhere that expects to own me 24x7 all the time. This is my first experience being an hourly employee rather than salaried, but the salaried positions treated me a lot better than this one.

I've just never been in a situation that requires me to be on call every other week without compensation while remaining in the county, and now I'm on call 24x7 every day until at least February--again without any compensation.

Thanks for taking time to respond to me, Beth.

 

[davidlt77]

Cute. We're supposed to have our Blackberries with us all the time. I guess I could take it scuba diving. After that, I won't be getting any more calls.