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Summary of differences between federal and state regulations
The federal law does not spell out actual hours that must be worked in a work day. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the workweek ordinarily includes all the time during which an employee is required to be:
- On the employer's premises,
- On duty, or
- At a prescribed work place.
Under state law (Administrative Code, Title 56, Part 210, Section 210.110, Definitions), “Hours worked” means all the time an employee is required to be on duty, or on the employer’s premises, or at other prescribed places of work, and any additional time he or she is required or permitted to work for the employer.
An employee’s meal periods and time spent on-call away from the employer’s premise are compensable hours worked when such time is spent predominantly for the benefit of the employer, rather than for the employee.
An employee’s travel, performed for the employer’s benefit (for example, in response to an emergency call back to work outside his/her normal work hours, or at the employer’s special request to perform a particular and unusual assignment, or as a part of the employee’s primary duty, or in substitution of his/her ordinary duties during normal hours) is compensable work time as defined in 29 CFR 785.33 – 785.41 (1994, no subsequent dates or editions), as amended at 26 FR 190.
One day rest in seven
Illinois statutes state that full time employees will receive 24 hours of consecutive rest in every calendar week. This provision does not apply to:
- Part-time employees whose total work hours for one employer during a calendar week do not exceed 20;
- Employees needed in case of breakdown of machinery or equipment or other emergency requiring the immediate services of experienced and competent labor to prevent injury to person, damage to property, or suspension of necessary operation;
- Employees employed in agriculture or coal mining;
- Employees engaged in the occupation of canning and processing perishable agricultural products, if such employees are employed on a seasonal basis and for not more than 20 weeks during any calendar year or 12 month period;
- Employees employed as watchmen or security guards;
- Employees who are employed in a bonafide executive, administrative, or professional capacity or in the capacity of an outside salesman, as defined in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and those employed as supervisors as defined in the National Labor Relations Act; and
- Employees who are employed as crew members of any uninspected towing vessel operating in any navigable waters in or along the boundaries of the State of Illinois.
A calendar week is defined as seven consecutive 24 hour periods starting at 12:01 a.m. Sunday morning and ending at midnight the following Saturday. Employers may ask IDOL for a relaxation of this requirement. If IDOL grants a relaxation, it requires a statement from the employer demonstrating that all employees who will be working seven days in a row are in fact volunteers.
Breaks and meal periods
An employee who is to work 7 1/2 continuous hours or more shall be provided an unpaid meal period of at least 20 minutes. The meal period must be given no later than 5 hours after beginning work. Illinois has no law regarding breaks.
Posting of schedule
Before operating on the first day of the week, which is commonly known as Sunday, every employer shall post in a conspicuous place on the premises, a schedule containing a list of his employees who are required or allowed to work on Sunday, and designating the day of rest for each. No employee shall be required to work on the day of rest so designated for him.
Schedules shall be posted not later than 12:00 noon on the Friday preceding the Sunday to be worked.
Keeping records
Every employer shall keep a time book showing the names and addresses of all employees and the hours worked by each of them on each day, and such time book shall be open to inspection at all reasonable hours by the Director of Labor.
The time book can be any accurate record of hours worked each day and each work week, i.e., time clock card, time card, time book, time sheet, or other suitable record.
State
Contact
Regulations
Administrative Code, Title 56, Part 210, Minimum Wage Law
Administrative Code, Title 56, Part 220, Six Day Week Law
Illinois Compiled Statutes, 820 ILCS 140/2, One Day Rest in Seven Act (includes provisions on meals, posting of schedule, and recordkeeping)
Federal
Contact
The Department of Labor is the federal agency that monitors hours worked.
Regulations
U.S. labor regulations for hours worked can be found in CFR 29: