Legal Question in Employment Law in Maryland

Re: On call time not paid

There are situations in which an employer is required to pay for on-call time. However, there is more information that is required in order to determine whether the on-call time should be compensated. It would be important first of all to know how many employees work for your company (to determine if certain laws apply). Also, which state do you work in? Live in? Also need a bit more details about the job itself and your duties etc.

Feel free to call at my office if you want to chat about your options.

Lawrence R. Holzman, Esquire

Joseph, Greenwald & Laake, P.A.

6404 Ivy Lane, Suite 400

Greenbelt, MD 20770

(301) 220-2200

fax (301) 220-1214

Disclaimer: Please note that the posting of this response is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain information applicable to your situation. This posting is not confidential or privileged and does not create an attorney/client relationship.

Re: On call time not paid

As Mr. Holzman said, there is not enough information in your question to give a detailed answer, but I'll try.

First, the basic on-call rule can be summarized like this: if your personal activities are highly restricted while you are on call, then you are most likely entitled to be paid for on call time.

So, if you are saying that your schedule can include up to 17.5 hours, that you are on call during that entire time, that you can not do much, if anything, of a personal nature while you are on call, that you are not always asked to work the full 17.5 but that you are not paid for the full 17.5, it sounds like you have a good argument for pay.

As far as damages go, if an employer violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (which is the federal wage and hour law), it can be liable for up to double damages for two or possibly three years.

On the other hand, if you are saying that you work and/or are paid for a full 17.5 hours, but then are on call for the rest of the week, the answer would depend on whether your personal time is severely restricted during the remainder of the week.

Again as Mr. Holzman said, consider consulting with an attorney to review the specific facts of your situation. Please feel free to call me for a free consultation if you'd like. I'd be glad to review the matter and advise you on how to proceed.

You can also contact the US Department of Labor or the Maryland Labor Division for help. Their websites are www.dol.gov and www.dllr.state.md.us.

Good luck.

Jeff Sheldon

Jeffrey L. Sheldon, Esquire

The Sheldon Law Firm

6932 Mayfair Road

Laurel, MD 20707

301.604.2497

fax: 301.776.3954

[email protected]

http://www.SheldonLawFirm.com

Disclaimer: This posting does not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. It is not confidential, nor is it privileged, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please consult with an attorney for advice specific to the facts of your case.