As a general rule, most New York employees cannot be asked to work “off the clock”.Furthermore, workers generally cannot be asked to work without being paid or to work hours that do not count toward overtime pay. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt workers who put in more than 40 hours a week must be paid at 150 percent of their normal wages for those hours.
Employees may be entitled to be paid whether the work was required or merely allowed. In legal terms, work that employers allow their workers to do extra work is referred to as suffering. For instance, an employee may be allowed to stay late to help other group members on a big project outside of normal work hours. Employees may also be entitled to compensation for time spent preparing a restaurant kitchen before it opens or returning equipment after a job has been completed.
A worker who is required to be on call or otherwise be available may need to be paid even if not performing duties for an employer. A worker may also need to be paid for time spent fixing errors or otherwise completing a project for a second time. In the event that workers aren’t paid as required, they may file a complaint seeking back wages.
Workers who are denied overtime pay or who are otherwise not paid according to the FLSA may wish to file a lawsuit against their employer. Legal counsel may use time clock records and other evidence to establish that a worker was asked to perform job duties without getting paid for them.
