Human Resource Blog

On Call Pay

	Compensation
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Is an employer required to pay the employee for being on call?

This sounds like such a simple question, doesn’t it? But the answer is deceptively complex.

Sometimes employers must pay workers who are on call and at other times they are not required to. It depends on the circumstances (and the state.)

The federal FLSA or Fair Labor Standards Act draws a distinction between “being engaged to wait” and “waiting to be engaged.”

Generally, if an employee is free to pursue their own activities away from the workplace, they need not be paid for being on call.

Tony works for a plumbing company. He comes to work on Tuesday at 8 am, in his uniform with his tools, and the company doesn’t have a job to send Tony to immediately. But, they don’t allow Tony to go home. He sits in the office for two hours before a customer calls. Tony must be paid for the entire time, because he’s “being engaged to wait.” In other words, the employer is paying Tony to sit around and wait for a job.

Now suppose Tony is “on call” on Saturday. Tony is having a backyard barbeque for some friends while wearing a pager. Tony need not be paid for this time, because he is free to spend it however he likes (within certain limits.) Tony is “waiting to be engaged.”  

Some states have laws that would affect this answer.