Your Employer Might Owe You Overtime for After-Hours Emails, Phone Calls, and Texts

We live in a world of constant connectivity. Smartphones have blurred the lines between work and personal time, making it easy for a supervisor to fire off a quick email or text to an off-the-clock employee. But what they might consider a minor inconvenience could violate your rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

More employers than ever expect their employees to be available around the clock, whether at work or not. Supervisors call and text employees with abandon after they are done for the day. And yet, few employees are given the opportunity to record time replying to work-related texts, calls, or emails when they are at home with their family. This could be off-the-clock work, compensable under the FLSA.

Workers May Be Entitled to Compensation for Off-the-Clock Tasks

The FLSA mandates that non-exempt employees receive time-and-a-half pay for all overtime work. This includes time spent responding to emails, texts, and phone calls if those communications are for your employer’s benefit. Even a short call or text could result in compensable time.

When a supervisor or manager calls, texts, or emails an employee, the employer is assumed to know about the communication. The employer is responsible for paying the employee for the time spent responding to that communication, even if the employer maintains a policy prohibiting off-the-clock work. This is true even if the employee fails to record the time spent working.

Incidents of Unpaid After-Hours Work Are on the Rise

The pandemic accelerated the use of technology connecting workers to their employers, and the demand for employees to respond to after-hours communications is growing. Lawsuits stemming from employer’s demands for constant communication off-the-clock should only go up

If you are responding to texts, calls, or emails from a manager after work hours, you may have a claim against your employer for withholding overtime pay. Contact Ethan Goemann at Sommers Schwartz today to confidentially discuss your case and learn how our Unpaid Wages and Overtime Litigation Group can help.