A lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago claims workers should be paid overtime when they access e-mails or answer work-related telephone calls when they’re off–duty. A Chicago Police Sergeant says the city owes him and his fellow officers overtime pay for work performed on department-requisitioned blackberry phones. If the plaintiffs eventually prevail, it could mean millions of dollars in back pay.The sergeant’s lawyer says the issue impacts workers everywhere.
The judge hearing the case says complex questions have yet to be addressed, including whether answering calls or scanning emails can be defined as work.
3 Comments to “Overtime for checking email?”
February 8, 2013 at 4:32 AM
I previously worked at a job where i was paid more then my co-workers just to be on call. I now work at a job where I can be called at any time of the day or night. There is nothing that states that I have to answer my phone. I am sure these officers decide all by themselves if they should answer their phones. so no they should not be paid overtime.
February 8, 2013 at 5:12 AM
Electronic gadgets allow everyone to put a message out, and it's a convenient way to get the message out so that the sender can "move on" to other things. It is the user's option, unless stated as terms of employment, to immediately review, read, reply. Unless one, as an employee, is required to respond/react immediately to any message, then it is at the discretion of the employee to do so or not. I access my company email when I'm away from work as a matter of personal convenience, so that I can go through and process or delete what is of importance inside my in-box. I could wait until I was at work to do this, so it's a personal choice that I want to be less stressed about a box full of emails, and my employer should not pay me for doing so.
This case sounds to me like someone – or someones – don't want to be team players. Okay, but then don't EVER, EVER take a personal call while at work, use a company pen to write yourself a reminder note, leave work with even so much as a company rubber band on your wrist!
February 8, 2013 at 5:37 AM
I’ve always took pride in my job and work so I gladly took calls to provide the best of service to my clients. But that’s not the kind of job they have and with the world the way it is, I think they deserve any time they can get.