Off-the-Clock Work: When Pre-Shift, Post-Shift and Break Time Must Be Paid

The Basic Rule: Work Your Employer Allows Is Paid Time

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires covered employers to pay for all hours worked. The Department of Labor's rules explain that work you were not asked to do still counts when your employer knows about it or has reason to know about it. A manager does not have to say "come in early" for the time to be owed. If the employer lets the work happen, it must pay for it. A policy against unapproved overtime does not erase the duty to pay for overtime that was actually worked, although the employer may discipline an employee who breaks the policy.

Common Forms of Off-the-Clock Work

• Working before you clock in

  Opening the building, starting a computer, or putting on required protective gear can be paid time when the task is a necessary part of your job and you are expected to do it.

• Working after you clock out

  Closing out a register, cleaning your station, or finishing paperwork after the system shows your shift has ended is still work.

• Working through a meal break

  Covering the floor or handling customers during a break you are supposed to have off should be paid, even if the timekeeping system automatically deducts a lunch period.

• Work from home on a laptop or mobile device

  Reading and answering work messages, joining calls, or finishing a report outside the workplace counts when the employer requires it or knows you are doing it.

• Required training and meetings

  Time spent in training or meetings is generally paid unless attendance is truly voluntary, outside normal hours, not job related, and you do no other work during it.

Rest Breaks and Meal Breaks

Federal law does not require employers to give breaks, but it does set rules for how breaks are paid when they are given. Short rest breaks, usually lasting about 5 to 20 minutes, are treated as paid working time. A meal break can be unpaid only if you are completely relieved of duty for long enough to eat, which is generally at least 30 minutes. If you must stay at your post, take work calls, or keep watch during the break, you are still working and the time is owed. Some states add their own meal and rest break rules, so the law where you work may give you more.

Time Before and After Your Shift

Ordinary travel from home to work and back is not paid time. Tasks that are an integral and indispensable part of your principal work can be, and courts look at whether the task is tied to the job itself and mainly benefits the employer. The answer depends on the facts. For example, the Supreme Court held in 2014 that time spent waiting for a required security screening at a warehouse was not paid time under the federal law, because the screening was not the work the employees were hired to do. Setting up equipment you use all day, by contrast, is much closer to the job itself.

Rounding and Automatic Deductions

Employers may round time to the nearest quarter hour or similar unit only if the practice averages out over time so that employees are paid for all the time they work. Rounding that always favors the employer, such as cutting a few minutes off every shift, adds up to unpaid wages. Automatic meal deductions raise the same concern when the employee works through the break and the employer never restores the time.

How to Prove Hours You Worked

Employers must keep accurate records of the hours employees work, but records are often incomplete in off-the-clock cases. When the employer's records are missing or wrong, a worker can prove hours with a reasonable estimate backed by other evidence, and the employer then has to answer with its own proof. Useful evidence includes a personal log of start and stop times, text messages and emails sent outside your shift, badge or login records, schedules, and statements from coworkers. Our guide on recovering unpaid wages lists more records to collect.

Time Limits and What You May Recover

A claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act generally must be filed within two years of the missed payday, or within three years if the employer's violation was willful. An employee who wins unpaid minimum wage or overtime can usually recover the unpaid amount, an equal amount as liquidated damages in most cases, and attorney's fees and costs. State laws can add longer deadlines or larger penalties. Because each paycheck can start its own clock, older unpaid time may still be recoverable. The rules on extra pay are covered in our article on overtime pay.

What to Do If You Are Working Off the Clock

• Start a log today

  Write down the date, the task, and the start and end time each time you work outside your recorded hours. Notes made at the time carry more weight than memories.

• Keep your pay stubs

  Compare the hours on each stub with your log and your schedule to see how much is missing.

• Use the timekeeping system

  Record all the time you work. If a manager tells you not to, save that message.

• Raise it in writing

  A short email asking to be paid for the missing time creates a record and may fix the problem. Federal law protects employees from being fired or punished for asserting wage rights, as explained in our guide to <a href="/blogs/understanding-workplace-retaliation-how-to-fight-back" class="text-primary underline">workplace retaliation</a>.

• Get advice about a claim

  You can file a wage complaint with the Department of Labor or your state labor agency, or consult an employment lawyer about a claim for unpaid wages.

Where to Find Official Guidance

The Department of Labor explains what counts as working time on its Hours Worked fact sheet. For the full set of federal wage rules, see our overview of your rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Frequently Asked Questions