The Personnel Advisor Home - Human Resource Advisory Services

Preview / FAQ

What is considered a "workweek"?

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) defines an employee's workweek as any fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours -- seven consecutive 24-hour periods. It does not need to coincide with the calendar week. An example of this is a workweek of Saturday through Friday. A workweek may begin on any day of the week and any hour of the day established by the employer. Employers are free to define the beginning and ending days for their work week as they so choose. Different workweeks may be established for different employees or groups of employees. Under section 7(a) of the FLSA, overtime compensation is determined on a workweek basis, and must be paid for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. There is no limit under the FLSA on the number of hours employees aged 16 and older may work in any workweek. It is the responsibility of the employer or supervisor to establish workweeks for each employee, including “exempt” employees, in writing. Once the beginning of an employee’s workweek is established, it remains fixed. The designated workweek for an employee cannot be changed unless it is intended to be permanent and may not be done to avoid paying overtime.

Are there any regulations stating we must pay an employee who is traveling to/from an educational conference for their time while traveling? Do we have to pay for weekend travel or overtime?

Whether time spent traveling is paid work time for nonexempt employees depends on the nature and the timing of the travel. Travel time that is work time is subject to both the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In situations where overnight travel away from home is required (e.g., employees traveling the day before or after the work assignment), all time spent traveling during hours corresponding to the employee's normal working hours must be counted as time worked and the employee must be paid for those hours (29 C.F.R. § 785.39). For example, if an employee regularly works from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday through Friday, the travel time during these hours is work time on Saturday and Sunday as well as on the other days. So, if the employee travels on a regular day off, perhaps Sunday, you must pay for any travel time between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (regular meal times do not have to be paid). The employee must also be paid for all time spent at the seminar, training session, or working. Overtime pay is required if travel time and work time together exceed 40 hours in a workweek. For more information, please see the "Travel Time" section in the Compensation chapter.

We often have employees who clock in early or clock out late and claim extra hours on their time sheets even though they are only supposed to work 40 hours a week. Do we have to pay our employees for this unauthorized overtime?

Yes. The schedule deviation is a disciplinary issue, not a pay issue. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), you have no choice but to pay employees for all hours actually worked. Address schedule violations under your company’s regular corrective action policy. Let your employees know, in writing, that in the future, all overtime must be approved by their supervisor in advance, and that failure to obtain such approval can lead to discipline, up to and including termination. If the excess hours resulted from some kind of supervisory negligence, there would also be an issue to address with regard to the responsible supervisor.

We are a small business with 10 employees. Are we required to fill out the OSHA record keeping log of job-related injuries and illnesses? Do we have to post the annual summaries?

One of our employees worked Monday through Thursday (8 hours each day), was out all day Friday on sick leave, and worked 8 hours on Saturday. We paid her 48 hours of regular pay. She now claims she is entitled to 8 hours of overtime pay. Is this correct?

What is the minimum amount of time we can give non-exempt hourly rate employees as an unpaid lunch break and is there any federal or Ohio law that states the maximum number of hours an adult employee can work in a single day?

Our company would like to know if we are entitled to offer health insurance benefits according to the number of hours worked per week by each employee. (For example: an employee works 25 hoursâ??the company contributes 20% of the premium; or, an employee works 35 hoursâ??the company contributes 40% of the premium). Is 25 hours considered full-time employment for the purpose of health insurance eligibility?

What are the consequences if an employer is not able to accommodate an employee who requests the application of "intermittent" leave? We have an employee who has a wide variety of medical related problems, such as: migraines, blood pressure, depression, nosebleeds, etc. The job held is a full-time position supervising others and to work part-time is not acceptable. Would appreciate any guidance available.

We are getting conflicting information on whether or not minors can sell cigarettes. Could you please let us know the legality of the situation?

Our company has 196 employees, and many of themâ??approximately halfâ??are part-time workers. Due to economic conditions, we may be forced to layoff many employees in the near future. Are we subject to the notification requirements of the WARN Act?

What is the Employer Information Report EEO-1?

Are employers required to give employees access to their personnel files?

Must employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) count hours spent by employees at training programs as work time?

How do employers comply with the New Hire Reporting laws?

Are employees required to provide medical certification when requesting leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)?