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Library: Policy

OKDHS:2-1-31.1. Compensable time for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) non-exempt employees

Revised 04-10-23

(a) Employees permitted to work.  All time during which FLSA non-exempt employees are permitted to work, whether authorized or not, must be counted as hours worked, and is compensable time.  This includes any time worked when the supervisor knew or should have reasonably known the work was performed.  The explanations included in (1) through (8) of this subsection assist employees and supervisors in defining compensable time.

(b) Entering time on timesheets.  Exact time must be entered on the timesheets and rounding time is prohibited.  When time is entered, the system automatically rounds up or down.  Employees may be subject to discipline for beginning work early, ending work late, or working at any other time outside of their normal shift without prior authorization.

(1) Beginning work early, ending work late, or working outside of normal shift.  Non-exempt employees who begin work prior to their scheduled shift or work after their scheduled shift ends must be compensated for that work time, even if additional work time was not authorized.

(2) Meal periods and breaks.  The FLSA does not require an employer to provide unpaid meal periods or paid breaks.  See OKDHS 2-1-91 for policy on breaks and meal periods.

(3) Commuting and compensable travel time.

(A) Travel from Home-to-duty station.

(i) Employees who do not telework and commute from home to the official duty station before their regular workday and return home at the end of the workday from the official duty station are engaged in ordinary home-to-work commuting.  This is not compensable time worked.

(ii) Employees who telework and are required to travel to the duty station after their workday has started are considered in work status.  The travel time to the duty station is compensable.

(iii) Employees who normally telework but are occasionally required to travel to the duty station before their workday has started are not considered in work status. The travel time is considered normal commute time and is not otherwise compensable.

(iv) Employees who work at a duty station but often commute to different worksites without first reporting to their duty station are considered in normal home-to-work commute time until reaching the first worksite for that day.

(v) Travel time to and from home to pick up and return a state car is not compensable time, unless the travel time is longer than it would be to the employee's duty station.

(B) Travel after regular duty hours.  There may be instances when travel from home-to-work is compensable.  For example, if an employee who is off duty after completing the day's work is subsequently called out after hours to travel for a client emergency, all time spent on such travel is compensable time worked.

(C) Home-to-work on special one-day assignment in another city.  When an employee who regularly works at a duty station in one city is given a special one-day assignment in another city, the time spent traveling is not considered the normal home-to-duty station commute time.

(i) If travel time from home to this location is longer than the normal home to duty station commute, the normal home-to-duty station commute time is deducted from the total travel time.  The difference is compensable time worked.

(ii) If the special assignment is closer to the employee's home than the official duty station, the travel time is not considered compensable time worked

(D) Travel that is all in the day's work.  Time spent by employees in travel as part of their principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during a workday, must be counted as compensable time worked.

(i) Where an employee is required to report to the official duty station to receive instructions, to perform other work there, or to pick up items necessary for work, the travel from the duty station to another job site is part of the day's work and must be counted as compensable time worked.

(ii) If the employee is allowed to leave from the employee's home, only the travel time to the first location and from the final location that is in excess of the normal home to duty station commute time is compensable time worked.

(E) Travel away from home community.  Travel away from an employee’s community home is compensable time worked when it cuts across the employee's workday.  The employee is substituting travel for other duties.

(i) Travel time on an employee's day off that is required for an early morning training the next day is compensable time worked.

(ii) Travel time on a workday after the training, minus the normal home-to-  duty station commute time, is compensable time worked.

(iii) Travel time to and from the hotel when employees are in the out-of-town location is not compensable time worked.

(iv) Employees make every effort to workweek-adjust for the compensable travel time so as not to create an overtime pay incident for that week.

(4) On-call time. On-call time is counted as compensable time worked when an employee is restricted to the work location or the employee must be so close that the time cannot be used effectively for the employee’s own purposes during the time spent on-call.

(A) Hours during which an employee is generally free to conduct personal business and is only required to leave word with the supervisor or designee as to how the employee may be reached, or to carry a phone are not counted as compensable hours worked.

(B) When an employee is in non-duty status, the supervisor may designate specific times when the employee calls in to be informed whether the employee is required to report for duty.  Contact time is considered compensable time worked.

(C) Other than designated call-in times as described in paragraph b(4)(B) above, supervisors do not place any restrictions on employees who are in on-call status that would cause on-call time to be counted as hours worked unless approved by the local administrator.

(D) Employees who are on-call receive a minimum of two hours of compensable work time if called to a work location.  Compensable time begins at the call to duty.

(5) Emergency client services. Time spent responding to emergency calls for client services is counted as compensable time worked.  Time spent on telephone calls in an effort to resolve client situations is counted as compensable time worked.

(6) Sleep time during duty of 24 hours or more.

(A) Sleep time, up to a maximum of eight hours, is excluded from compensable hours worked if at least five hours of uninterrupted sleep are possible during the scheduled sleeping period and the employer provides adequate sleeping facilities.

(B) Employees must sign an agreement to exclude sleep time prior to the work period lasting 24 hours or more.

(C) Interruptions of sleep time to perform duties are considered compensable hours worked.

(D) An employee who is responsible for the supervision of an Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) client or a child in OKDHS custody is considered performing duties for the entire period the client or child is under the employee's immediate supervision.  In this situation, sleep time is not deducted.

(7) Volunteer work. Volunteer work conducted by an OKDHS: employee on behalf of OKDHS is not considered compensable if the work is:

(A) performed outside of the employee's normal working hours;

(B) not the consequence of any supervisory expectation, assignment, coercion, or undue pressure; and

(C) not related to or similar in nature to the employee’s regularly assigned job duties.

(8) Training. Time spent attending OKDHS sponsored lectures, meetings, and training programs is compensable, except when all the following conditions are met:

(A) attendance is outside regular working hours;

(B) attendance is voluntary;

(C) the subject matter of the course does not relate to the employee's work; and

(D) the employee does not perform productive work during attendance.

(c) Employee responsibility. Employees:

(1) learn the regulations governing compensable time;

(2) accurately enter all compensable time on the timesheet;

(3) comply with the local procedures regarding the assigned shift;

(4) obtain prior authorization for all overtime work; and

(5) immediately report all overtime worked to their supervisor.

(d) Supervisory responsibility. Supervisors:

(1) monitor and control the number of hours non-exempt staff work;

(2) use workweek adjustments, when possible, to avoid overtime work by employees;

(3) establish procedures for non-exempt staff to follow when requesting prior authorization to work overtime;

(4) inform all non-exempt employees of the procedures for requesting prior authorization to work overtime;

(5) ensure all non-exempt employees are trained in their FLSA rights and responsibilities; and

(6) review violations of employees’ failure to request and receive prior authorization to work overtime for appropriate discipline.

(e) Additional resources. The OKDHS FLSA compliance officers in Human Resources Management (HRM):

(1) provide explanations and interpretations to OKDHS staff concerning compensable time;

(2) review FLSA issues and conflicts; and

(3) recommend appropriate changes to ensure compliance with federal guidelines.

(f) Reporting potential FLSA violations.  In addition to filing FLSA complaints with the FLSA compliance officers, complaints of potential FLSA violations can be reported to the Director of HRM or designee.

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