{"id":3346,"date":"2019-07-25T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sonusbenefits.com\/employers-beware-comp-time-could-land-you-in-hot-water\/"},"modified":"2019-07-25T11:00:16","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T11:00:16","slug":"employers-beware-comp-time-could-land-you-in-hot-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonusbenefits.com\/employers-beware-comp-time-could-land-you-in-hot-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Employers Beware: Comp Time Could Land You in Hot Water"},"content":{"rendered":"

Employees are often more than willing to put in extra hours to help accomplish a specific team or company goal. Participating in special events, trade shows, product launches, and other occasional high-intensity activities can be fun and rewarding for motivated staff members.<\/p>\n

In these circumstances, it can be tempting to get creative when compensating helpful employees for this additional time. It can also be a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.<\/p>\n

What is comp time?<\/h3>\n

Compensatory (comp) time is sometimes offered to non-exempt employees in lieu of overtime pay. Rather than paying employees time and a half for those extra hours, a company or supervisor might offer additional paid time off to make up for the additional time worked.<\/p>\n

Here’s an example: An employee works 48 hours one week as a result of helping out with a company special event. In return, their employer offers to give them an additional paid day off at some other time. Everybody’s happy, right?<\/p>\n

Not quite.<\/p>\n

While this may sound like a great idea to many employers and employees, it’s usually illegal.<\/p>\n

When is comp time legal?<\/h3>\n

If you’re dealing with public sector employees under a union contract, you may be able to provide comp time in a manner that doesn’t violate the FLSA. Here are a few things to keep in mind:<\/p>\n