Overtime wages cost employers money. If hourly or non-exempt salary professionals are on the clock for more than 40 hours per work week, anytime past the 40th hour entitles them to 150% of their usual hourly wages under federal overtime statutes.
Employers often look for any trick they can use to avoid the extra financial obligations that come from overtime work. They might disguise training or meetings to review company policy as a staff party that everyone must attend.
Can employers mandate that workers attend meetings on their days off without paying them, possibly by offering food as a reward for attending?
Workers deserve pay for meetings
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers are responsible for paying workers for all of the time that they are at work, including time when they may not perform their primary job functions. Training and mandatory meetings generally fall under the umbrella of time worked.
Especially in cases where the meeting is held on a weekend and requires that a worker come in on their day off, they may have the right to not just normal wages but technically overtime pay for the training session that they attend. Employers who try to trick workers into being available and performing tasks for the company, including meeting attendance or training, without pay, may have violated those workers’ rights.
Pursuing a wage and hour lawsuit can help employees pursue the wages they deserve. Hourly and non-exempt salaried employees have the right to wages for all time worked, including overtime pay for mandatory work meetings held on their days off from work.