The courts have held that work time under the FLSA includes all time spent performing job-related activities which genuinely benefit the employer, which the employer “knows or has reason to believe” are being performed by an employee, and which the employer does not prohibit the employee from performing. These can include activities performed during “off-the-clock” time, at the job site or elsewhere, whether “voluntary” or not. Courts have awarded FLSA damages for “off-the-clock” time spent by employees maintaining equipment, staying late after normal shifts without “putting in” for overtime, doing job-related paperwork “at home”, making and responding to job-related telephone calls, working through meal periods, and many other activities. Employees sometimes underestimate the amount of “off the clock” time they spend performing compensable tasks.
