Sleep Time on a 24-Hour Shift: When Do Sleeping Hours Count as Paid Work?
At a glance
Sleep Time on a 24-Hour Shift: When Do Sleeping Hours Count as Paid Work?: key takeaways
A visual summary of this post's main points. Read the article for context and limits.
Key point 1
If you are on duty for less than 24 hours, all of the time, including time you are allowed to sleep, is generally counted as hours worked
Key point 2
On a shift of 24 hours or more, an agreement can exclude a regularly scheduled sleep period of up to 8 hours, but only if the employer provides adequate sleeping facilities and you
Key point 3
Interruptions to handle a task count as work, and if the sleep period is under 5 hours or too broken up for a reasonable night's sleep, the whole period counts
Overnight caregivers, group home staff, ambulance crews, security guards and others often work shifts that include time to sleep. Some employers treat those hours as unpaid by default. Federal law is more specific: whether sleeping hours are paid depends on how long you are on duty, what was agreed and how often you are woken up.
In this article
Key takeaways
If you are on duty for less than 24 hours, all of the time, including time you are allowed to sleep, is generally counted as hours worked
On a shift of 24 hours or more, an agreement can exclude a regularly scheduled sleep period of up to 8 hours, but only if the employer provides adequate sleeping facilities and you can usually get uninterrupted sleep
Interruptions to handle a task count as work, and if the sleep period is under 5 hours or too broken up for a reasonable night's sleep, the whole period counts
Notes of when you slept, when you were woken and what you did make a missing-pay claim much easier to prove
Shifts Under 24 Hours
Under 29 CFR 785.21, an employee who is on duty for less than 24 hours is working during the whole period, even if allowed to sleep or engage in other personal activities when not busy. An overnight 12-hour shift with a nap in the break room is therefore generally paid for all 12 hours.
Shifts of 24 Hours or More
29 CFR 785.22 allows an employer and employee to agree to exclude a bona fide, regularly scheduled sleeping period of not more than 8 hours from hours worked on a shift of 24 hours or more. That is an exception, and it only works when each of these is true:
A real agreement
The deal to exclude sleep time must be an actual agreement, and a written one is much safer than a verbal one. An employer cannot simply declare the hours unpaid.
Adequate sleeping facilities
A bed or cot in a place where you can reasonably rest, not a chair in a busy hallway.
A regular sleep period
The sleeping period has to be scheduled and bona fide, and no more than 8 hours is excluded, even on a longer stay.
Uninterrupted sleep in practice
You must usually be able to get an uninterrupted night's sleep. A schedule that exists only on paper does not qualify.
Interruptions and Short Sleep
Even when a sleep period is validly excluded, the rule has limits. If a work task interrupts your sleep, the interruption counts as hours worked. If the sleep period is less than 5 hours, the entire period counts. If interruptions are so frequent that you cannot get a reasonable night's sleep, the entire period is counted as work. The result is that a night with several wake-ups for a client, patient or alarm may need to be paid in full.
Living at the Workplace
Live-in jobs have their own wrinkle. Under 29 CFR 785.23, time that an employee lives on the employer's premises is not automatically work time, and meal, sleep and other personal time can be excluded by a reasonable agreement, but time you are actually working still counts. Whether a particular job falls under special overtime rules also matters; see our guide on home care worker overtime.
A Simple Example
Say you work a 24-hour shift, and you and the employer agreed in writing to an 8-hour sleep period from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. You are paid for 16 hours. But you are woken twice, once for 30 minutes and once for 45 minutes, to help a resident. Those 75 minutes should be added, so you are owed pay for 17 hours and 15 minutes. If you only slept 4 hours, the whole 8-hour period should be paid, and the shift is 24 hours. The facts and your state's rules may change the details.
What to Write Down
Shift start and end
Record the actual times you arrived and left, not only the posted schedule.
Wake-ups
Note each time you were woken, for how long and what you did.
Sleeping conditions
Note where you slept and whether it was a bed, a cot or a shared space.
The agreement
Keep any written sleep-time agreement, handbook page or text about it. If the employer's records are missing, see our guide on <a href="/blogs/employer-has-no-time-records-or-refuses-pay-records-flsa-recordkeeping-and-proof-of-hours" class="text-primary underline">proving hours without time records</a>.
Overtime and Standby
Hours that count as work are added to your workweek, so unpaid sleeping hours can also mean unpaid overtime. If you were simply waiting for work to come up, see our guide on standby time. For how overtime is figured, read our overtime pay guide.
Time Limits
The FLSA generally allows 2 years to bring a claim, or 3 years for willful violations, and state law may allow more. Asking about unpaid hours is protected, and retaliation for a wage complaint is illegal.
Free Case Review
Whether your sleeping hours should have been paid depends on your schedule, the agreement and how often you were woken. Our team can review your situation at no cost, if you are eligible.
Do I get paid for sleeping hours on an overnight shift?
If you are on duty for less than 24 hours, generally yes. All the time is counted as hours worked even if you are allowed to sleep when not busy.
Can my employer take out 8 hours for sleep on a 24-hour shift?
Only in limited cases. There must be an agreement, adequate sleeping facilities and a regularly scheduled sleep period, and you must usually be able to sleep without interruption. Interruptions count as work, and a sleep period of less than 5 hours must be paid in full.
What if I am woken up during my sleep period?
Time spent working after being woken counts as hours worked. If interruptions are so frequent that you cannot get a reasonable night's sleep, the entire sleep period is counted.
Primary Sources
- 29 CFR 785.21: Less than 24-hour dutyAccessed November 12, 2026
- 29 CFR 785.22: Duty of 24 hours or moreAccessed November 12, 2026
- 29 CFR 785.23: Employees residing on employer's premises or working at homeAccessed November 12, 2026
- U.S. Department of Labor Fact Sheet 22: Hours Worked Under the FLSAAccessed November 12, 2026
