Expectation to check email during off hours

[ub3]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

Ok... so ... I apologize if this has been asked before, obviously I'm new to the forum, but what I'm about to discuss really bothered me and I thought I would put it out there for discussion...

I used to be an IT staffer for a Whole Foods regional office and they were sticklers about even checking email during off hours due to FLSA ... fast forward 3 years and I now work as a Network Administrator (hourly) for a national mortgage company and this morning I received this email:

---- paste ----

Good morning,

Just a reminder if you haven’t already done so…

You should have the Outlook App or CCM email configured on your phones.

Additionally, you should be checking your e-mail after hours and on weekends, as occasionally Rachel and I send out communications which need immediate response. As this is very infrequent, I don’t feel that this is too much to ask that you stay somewhat connected during your off hours.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

----/paste----

It's a large company (1500+ employees) ... IT staff of about 30 or so... about 15 or so of the people that this email went out to are Support staffers (also hourly) ... I myself am a higher level, non support, hourly staffer.

Can they reasonably expect us to adhere to this? They don't offer a stipend for cell phones (let alone a phone) ... I'm in California at the 'West Coast Operations Office' but, with the exception of 2 other support staffers, everyone is based in Ohio. My feeling in the brief amount of research that I've done, is that they can't reasonably expect me to check my email as an hourly employee, during MY time and not on the clock, and not be compensated for it. Doesn't the FLSA come in to play here?

What they're asking of me inhibits my ability to enjoy a night out at dinner, a movie, a visit to Disney, or anything else without the fear in the back of my mind that maybe I'm missing an "important" email... I can never turn it off.. is this fair?

thoughts?

 

[xylene]

Nothing is going to happen when you miss an email

 

[ub3]

Nothing is going to happen when you miss an email

While I appreciate that... I've been an IT staff member to one degree or another for 20 years... I've never had an expectation put upon me that requires me to be "connected" basically 24/7.

I monitor a network of about 2000 users... phishing alerts, virus alerts, VIP's can't get to Youtube (kidding sort of) ... there are indeed emails that I could miss when I'm off the clock that in my leaderships eyes, could hamper operations.

My question is, I suppose, can they legally ask this of me (us) with no reasonable expectation of compensation for when I grab my phone and check my work email.

 

[cbg]

Yes, they can legally ask that of you.

Whether additional compensation is due, is going to be very fact specific to the situation. If you are an exempt employee, no compensation is due, period.

If you are non-exempt, and if you grab your phone, check your email, and there's nothing there, no pay is due. The 90 seconds that you spend looking is de minimus and does not require compensation. If, however, you check your email and there's something there that you spend half an hour responding to, then that would be paid time.

 

[windingmeup1]

While I appreciate that... I've been an IT staff member to one degree or another for 20 years... I've never had an expectation put upon me that requires me to be "connected" basically 24/7.

I monitor a network of about 2000 users... phishing alerts, virus alerts, VIP's can't get to Youtube (kidding sort of) ... there are indeed emails that I could miss when I'm off the clock that in my leaderships eyes, could hamper operations.

My question is, I suppose, can they legally ask this of me (us) with no reasonable expectation of compensation for when I grab my phone and check my work email.

I was in a similar situation with an Overtime lawsuit. We were asking if we could also collect standby time as well since we were on call 24/7. It's very difficult to meet the standards here. My lawyer explained it to me but I found this on FLSA.com which seems to summarize what I was told.

On call or stand by time need not generally be included as FLSA hours worked. An employer may require employees to "remain available" to be called into work without having to pay FLSA wages for that time. The only exception is if the employer places restrictions on the use of stand by or on call time which make it virtually impossible for the employee to use the time for any personal purposes. Such situations are very rare. "If you can watch TV when you are on call, you probably are not entitled to FLSA compensation for the time." Any work an employee does during on call or stand by status must be compensated appropriately​

Sounds like you may be non-exempt based on your hourly comment. You should be receiving overtime pay in situations like CBG explained.