Does my boss have to pay me to attend a mandatory week end seminar?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Does my boss have to pay me to attend a mandatory week end seminar?
Asked on September 2, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Louisiana
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
All time spent by a non-exempt employee (i.e. an hourly employee) performing activities which are job-related is "work time". And work time is paid time. Accordingly, most training time is time for which an employee must be paid.
Specifically, all training time is work time if it occurs during an employee's regular shift or if it is required by the employer. However, training time need not be counted as work time if it:
- occurs outside of an employee's normal work schedule,
- is truly voluntary (i.e. no direct or indirect pressure on the employee to attend),
- not directly related to the employee's current job (i.e. the training is designed to qualify them to get a new job and not to enhance the skills used by them on the existing job), and
- the employee does no other work during the training.
Note: Additionally, travel time to and from off-site location must be paid as well. And to the extent this puts a non-exempt employee in an overtime situation, they are entitled to overtime pay as well (i.e. OT for any hours over 40 in a week).
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.