When an Employer Refuses to Compensate For on Call Time

There are a number of ways in which employers can try to get around paying their employees what the employees are legally entitled to by suggesting that a certain type of work is not eligible for compensation. One of the areas employers often fail to compensate in is on call time.

On call time is a time period in which an employee is not require to be at the workplace or engage in the routine activities normally required of work, but they are expected to stay in a close vicinity to work so that they will be able to drop everything that they are currently doing in order to arrive at the workplace and perform work if they are needed. Although you may not be actively working during this time period, it is not the same as time off by any means. For one thing there is constantly a sense of unrest when you engage in outside activities because you may be called into work at any time. Even though you are not actively working, you are entitled to compensation for these periods of time. This is includes days that you are never actually called into work.

There are a number of professions that require employees to spend long periods of time next to their phone. These professions include:

Doctors-these are the most common professions that require these long periods of waiting time. Any doctor may be asked to come in at a random time but doctors such as psychiatrists are expected to be able to coach patients through rough patches or answer a variety of questions when they are on call.

Dentists-there are certain dentists that work in emergency clinics. There is always a need for dentist in the case of dental emergencies including lost teeth or severe infection.

Veterinarians-most vet offices are only open during the day, but veterinarians working at emergency vet clinics must be able to come in at any time of the day.

Nurses-nurses are often sent home in order to save money for the hospital if they do not seem to be actively needed that day. But instead of being able to just go home, they must be ready to return to work at a moment’s notice if the conditions in the hospital suddenly change.

To find out more about being compensated for on call time, visit the website of the wage theft attorneys of Tycko & Zavareei, LLP.