Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), time that is treated as hours worked. The FLSA generally requires employers to pay nonexempt employees at least the minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime pay for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek.

A common claim in wage and hour litigation is that the employer failed to pay nonexempt employees for all compensable time. Federal courts have developed several general tests for determining what work-related activities are compensable under the FLSA. Commonly litigated activities include:

For more information on compensable time, see Practice Notes, Wage and Hour Law: Overview: What Time Counts as Hours Worked? and Compensable Time.

State and local wage and hour laws may impose different or additional requirements relating to minimum wage, overtime, and compensable time. For more information, see Wage and Hour Laws: State Q&A Tool.