Off-the-clock work: the unpaid minutes that add up
Key points
- If your employer requires or allows the work, it generally counts as hours worked.
- Automatic meal deductions are a common problem when breaks get interrupted.
- A few minutes a day can mean thousands of dollars over two or three years.
The rule
Under federal law, time you're "suffered or permitted" to work counts, even if no one asked for it, as long as the employer knows or should know about it. An employer can't accept the benefit of your work and refuse to pay for it. It can discipline you for breaking a policy against unauthorized overtime, but it still has to pay for the time.
The usual suspects
- Before the shift: booting up computers, logging into systems, putting on required protective gear, opening the store.
- After the shift: closing tasks, counting the drawer, finishing paperwork after clocking out.
- Phones and email: responding to messages after hours or on days off.
- Meal breaks: automatic 30-minute deductions even when you worked through lunch or were interrupted.
- Security screenings and waiting: depending on the circumstances and current law, some of this time may be compensable.
- Rounding: time-clock rounding is allowed only if it's neutral over time, not if it always favors the employer.
Why small amounts matter
Fifteen unpaid minutes a day is 1.25 hours a week. If you already work 40 hours, that time is overtime. At a $25 regular rate, it's about $47 a week, roughly $2,300 a year, and potentially double that with liquidated damages. Plug your numbers into the calculator.
Protect yourself
Write down the actual start and stop times every day, along with what you were doing. Keep a copy somewhere personal, not only on a work device. See how to track your hours.
See what you could be owed
Estimate unpaid overtime and back pay in under a minute. Free, private, nothing stored.