Wage and Hour

Overtime

100

Comp time may be given in lieu of overtime so long as the comp time is given within the same pay period.

False - Comp or flex time can be taken in lieu of overtime only if it falls within the same work week

200

Jane earns $14.00 per hour. She worked 48 hours in one week. How much was Jane's gross pay for the week?

($14.00 x 40 = $560.00) + ($14.00 x 1.5 x 8) = $728.00

300

Federal law places a cap on the number of hours you may require an employee to work in one week.

False. As a general rule, an employee may be scheduled to work any number of hours. Employers just need to pay 1.5 time for any hours over 40.

400

True or False - Overtime must be paid even if it was not authorized by the Team Leader.

True - The Team member could be subject to displine for not following company policy, but they must be paid for all time worked.

500

True or False - Only base wages are subject to overtime.

False! Commission and other forms of compensation may also be subject to overtime calculations.

Breaks and Meal Periods

100

True or False - Federal law entitles employees to two fifteen minute breaks per eight hours worked

False. There is no federal requirement for break periods.

200

True or False - Federal law entitles employees to one half hour meal period for every eight hours worked.

False - There is no federal requirement for a lunch break. The only requirment is that you must pay employees for all time worked (and OT for all hours over 40). (exception: employees under 18 years of age)

300

Bill clocks out for lunch at Noon and goes down to the kitchen to get his lunch. He returns to his desk at 12:15pm and replies to emails from co-workers and customers. He clocks back in at 1:00pm. How long was Bill's bonafide lunch break?

He didn't have one! Bill should not have clocked out for lunch. Meal periods under 20 minutes must be paid. It took Bill 15 minutes to get his food. Once back at his desk, Bill was not relieved of all job duties - this would also be paid time.

400

John and George are attending a conference out of town. The conference package includes meals. They attend dinner after their sessions are complete for the day. Is this paid time for John and George?

Generally no - voluntary meals are not compensatory time. If the meal inolved a speaker, training component, or work-related networking (meeting with customer, vendors, etc...) it would most likely be paid time.

500

ABC Company has an after-hours Christmas party that is attended by team members and their significant others. Would this be paid time?

No - after hours, voluntary events are outside of work and not compensatory.

Travel

100

Liz is traveling for work training. She leaves after work at 5:00pm and arrives at the hotel at 9:00pm the night before the training. Does Liz get paid for her drive time?

Yes. Driving is considered "active" travel. All time driving must be compensated, even if it falls outside the normal work day. Any extended rest periods or deviations from the route (stopping to visit a friend, etc...) would not be paid time.

200

Dave works 9:00am to 6:00pm. He has to fly to training for work. He arrives at the airport at 2:00pm for a 4:00pm departure. He arrives at his destination at 9:00pm. Which hours would be considered compensatory time? BONUS: Does the answer change if he flies on a Saturday?

2:00pm to 6:00pm. Air travel is considered "passive" travel and need only be compensated for the times that cut across normal work hours. The rule applies to non-scheduled work days as well (Saturdays or Sundays).

300

Anne works 8:00am to 9:00pm. She has one-day training out of town. She leaves her home at 7:00am and arrives for training at 9:00am. The training is complete at 6:00pm and she is home by 8:00pm. How many paid hours does Anne have?

8:00am to 8:00pm BUT - you can omit any time that would normally be part of Anne's regular commute to work.

400

Pam is a technician who must perform a repair at a customer location. She stops at her office to pick up repair items at 8:00am and arrives at the repair site at 8:30am. What time does Pam's workday start? Does the answer change if she went straight to the repair site?

8:00am. If she went straight to the repair site, her work day would begin at 8:30am.

State Specific Laws

200

Fred works in Illinois. His schedule is 8:00am to 5:00pm. The state requires a lunch break within the first 5 hours of an employee's work day. Fred would rather skip lunch and leave work early. His supervisor approves this arrangement and Fred leaves at 4:00pm. Is this ok?

No. Illinois requires at least a 20 minute meal period. An employee cannot voluntarily waive the meal period, even when they want to make up for lost time elsewhere in the day or week.

300

Deb works in California. Her work schedule was as follows: Monday: 8 hours, Tuesday: 8 hours, Wednesday: 6 hours, Thursday: 10 hours, Friday: 7 hours. How many hours of OT did Deb have for the week?

2 hours of OT. In California, Overtime is determined by the day. Any hours over eight in one day is overtime.

Misc.

100

Quarterly meetings start at 7:30am on a Thursday, Team members generally arrive start their work day at 8:00am. If the Team Member attends the quarterly meeting? What time shoudl they clock in for work?

7:30am Note: Option to flex time on Thursday or Friday to avoid overtime.

200

Jack is scheduled to work from 8:00am to 5:00pm. Jack likes to come in at 7:30am to have some coffee and read in the breakroom. If the phone rings, he answers it to help the team out. What time should Jack be clocking in?

Generally 8:00am, but if he does any type of work (answer phones, check emails, etc...) he needs to clock in as soon as he starts those duties.

300

Tom works 8:00am to 5:00pm. On Tuesday he worked all day on a report that was due Wednesday. at 4:00pm he realized he made a significant error that required him to have to start the report over. He ended up working until 9:00pm. What hours does Tom put on his time sheet?

8:00am to 9:00pm. From the Department of Labor: When an employee must correct mistakes in his or her work, the time must be treated as hours worked. The correction of errors, or "rework", is hours worked, even when the employee voluntarily does the rework.

400

Mary checks her work email from home. Her Team Leader advised her not to do this, because she wants to avoid OT for the department. Mary says she is ok with not getting paid for the time. What should the Team Leader do?

Mary must be paid for any hours worked. Checking work emails from home is work. If her Team Leader does not want her doing this, she can take discplinary action against Mary for going against policy, but she must pay her for the time.