Blackberrys: The Center of Overtime Claims?
With the way today’s technology is progressing, it seems like every other employee is given a Blackberry by their employer, enabling the employer to contact their employees after work, on the weekends and during their vacations. Employees find themselves constantly working, even though they are no longer within the walls of their job. They check their Blackberry right when they wake up, while they’re riding the subway and before they go to sleep. This trend has raised the question: Should employees be compensated for checking their Blackberrys outside of work?
Generally, the Fair Labor Standards Act requires employers to pay employees at least the Federal minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay for all hours in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. These “non-exempt” employees must be paid for all hours worked. On the other hand, there are certain types of employees, such as managers, who are exempt from this law. The danger of overtime lawsuits against employers from the use of Blackberrys after work will come from non-exempt employees.
A recent battle between ABC-TV and the Writers Guild of America East (“WGAE”) provides a preview of the kinds of problems that may arise regarding the use of Blackberrys. According to CBS The Early Show, several months ago, ABC asked several new writers to sign waivers stating that they will not be compensated for the use of their Blackberrys outside of work. When the WGAE asked the writers not to sign the waiver, ABC took away their Blackberrys. Soonafter, ABC returned the Blackberrys to their employees, agreeing that the writers would be compensated for their use of the Blackberry “beyond routine.” This overtime policy implemented by ABC may set the trend for other companies who are facing this situation and are worried about non-exempted employees starting lawsuits for overtime pay.
