Legal Question in Employment Law in Ohio

Unpaid time while working

My husband works and lives in Ohio. He works for a construction company that requires him to be at the shop at 7am in order to stock the company truck with supplies necessary for the day's work and arrive on the jobsite by 7:30am. They will not start paying him until 7:30am, however. They do not feel he is actually working for them until he arrives at the jobsite. One of his coworkers was suspended yesterday because he wrote down that he worked until 6p when he actually left the jobsite at 5:45pm. The owner happened to arrive at that jobsite right after he left, so knew that he did not work until 6. So he suspended the employee for one week for a fraudulent timecard and subtracted a complete hour from his work week, when it was only a 15 min. difference, corroborated by other employees and a supervisor. First, can he deduct the hour legally. Second, shouldn't the employees' start time be 7am since they are required to be there and are working on company property by loading the trucks. Also, isn't drive time billable hours if they have to come to the shop and drive to the jobsite from there?


Asked on 6/29/07, 9:20 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Eileen Joyce Baughman & Joyce LLC

Re: Unpaid time while working

Yes, assuming that your husband is a non-exempt employee (and it sounds like he is, though I cannot be certain without additional information), the employer is required to pay your husband for the time that he spends loading the truck as well as his driving time between jobs, as the time so spent is for the employer�s benefit (and in most cases, all time the employee is required to be present at the employer�s premises is �work time�). The employer�s failure to pay him may implicate not only a violation of the minimum wage requirement, but the payment of overtime requirement as well if, when this additional time is factored in, he works more than 40 hours in a work week.

As for the deduction of wages, employers are required to pay non-exempt employees wages for all time worked and thus, a full hour deduction should not have been made, particularly if that employee was, likewise, not paid for loading and between-job travel time.

Your husband as well as all other affected employees have several options, including: (1) submitting a complaint to the employer requesting the payment of back wages owed; (2) filing a complaint with the Department of Labor; or (3) filing suit in court under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law. Note that employers are prohibited by law from retaliating against employees who make complaints about unlawful wage-payment practices.

The information contained herein is for informational purposes only; it is not to be construed as legal advice; and it is not intended to and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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Answered on 6/29/07, 10:27 am


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