(a) The general rules on compensable hours of work are set forth in
29 CFR part 785 which is applicable to employees for whom the section
7(k) exemption is claimed. Special rules for sleep time (Sec. 553.222)
apply to both law enforcement and firefighting employees for whom the
section 7(k) exemption is claimed. Also, special rules for meal time
apply in the case of firefighters (Sec. 553.223). Part 785 does not
discuss the special provisions that apply to State and local government
workers with respect to the treatment of substitution, special details
for a separate and independent employer, early relief, and work
performed on an occasional or sporadic and part-time basis, all of which
are covered in this subpart.
(b) Compensable hours of work generally include all of the time
during which an employee is on duty on the employer's premises or at a
prescribed workplace, as well as all other time during which the
employee is suffered or permitted to work for the employer.
Such time includes all pre-shift and post-shift activities which are an
integral part of the employee's principal activity or which are closely
related to the performance of the principal activity, such as attending
roll call, writing up and completing tickets or reports, and washing and
re-racking fire hoses.
(c) Time spent away from the employer's premises under conditions
that are so circumscribed that they restrict the employee from
effectively using the time for personal pursuits also constitutes
compensable hours of work. For example, where a police station must be
evacuated because of an electrical failure and the employees are
expected to remain in the vicinity and return to work after the
emergency has passed, the entire time spent away from the premises is
compensable. The employees in this example cannot use the time for their
personal pursuits.
(d) An employee who is not required to remain on the employer's
premises but is merely required to leave word at home or with company
officials where he or she may be reached is not working while on call.
Time spent at home on call may or may not be compensable depending on
whether the restrictions placed on the employee preclude using the time
for personal pursuits. Where, for example, a firefighter has returned
home after the shift, with the understanding that he or she is expected
to return to work in the event of an emergency in the night, such time
spent at home is normally not compensable. On the other hand, where the
conditions placed on the employee's activities are so restrictive that
the employee cannot use the time effectively for personal pursuits, such
time spent on call is compensable.
(e) Normal home to work travel is not compensable, even where the
employee is expected to report to work at a location away from the
location of the employer's premises.
(f) A police officer, who has completed his or her tour of duty and
who is given a patrol car to drive home and use on personal business, is
not working during the travel time even where the radio must be left on
so that the officer can respond to emergency calls. Of course, the time
spent in responding to such calls is compensable.
(g) The fact that employees cannot return home after work does not
necessarily mean that they continue on duty after their shift. For
example, firefighters working on a forest fire may be transported to a
camp after their shift in order to rest and eat a meal. As a practical
matter, the firefighters may be precluded from going to their homes
because of the distance of the fire from their residences.
[52 FR 2032, Jan. 16, 1987; 52 FR 2648, Jan. 23, 1987]
