The employer need not pay for "on call" time unless the restrictions placed upon the employee are such that she can not reasonabely engage in private pursuits. Unfortunately, this rule is judged on a case by case basis.
Simply carrying a pager will not be a sufficient enough restriction. The following are the factors that are used in determining whether or not the time needs to be paid for:
1. Whether there are excessive geographic restrictions.
2. The frequency of the calls.
3. Whether the required response time is unduly restrictive.
4. Whether the employee can easily trade the assigned slot with other employees.
5. The extent that the employee can actually engage in personal activities.
In general, a one hour response time is not, in itself, so restrictive. However, if the number of calls received each day is so much that it effectively eliminates the posibility of doing anything else, then the time needs to be paid for.
mtracy
| Mon, 02 Jan 2006 16:30:00 GMT |