Is mandatory training required to be paid?
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Is mandatory training required to be paid?
My husband attended a mandatory training course at work which was alll day come to find out that he was not getting paid for this. Can they do this?
Asked on October 24, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Most training time is time for which an employee must be paid. The reason is that all time spent by an employee performing activities which are job-related is potentially "work time". Specifically, training time is work time if it occurs during an employee's regular shift or if it is required by the employer.
That having been said, training time need not be counted as work time and consequently not paid 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.
Since attending this training session was mandatory (i.e. a condition of employment) it therefore was time for which your husband should have been compensated.
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