Off the clock? Not so fast: Compensable time at company conferences

Q           One of our hourly, nonexempt employees is attending our company’s annual conference that includes activities after 5 p.m. Are we required to pay them for the time spent traveling to the conference, as well as for the events attended after 5? Would this time count toward overtime?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs, conferences, and similar activities is counted as working time and must be compensated, unless four criteria are met: Attendance is outside normal hours, voluntary, not job-related, and not performed concurrently with regular work.

Working time, whether it be event attendance or otherwise, must be compensated even if it occurs outside the employee’s regular workday. Whether an hourly, nonexempt employee should be paid for time spent at an after-hours event will depend on whether the employee typically works after 5 p.m., attends conference activities voluntarily, has job duties related to the activities, and works during the activities.