Hours worked - West Virginia

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 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.

West Virginia does not address hours worked.

State

Contact

West Virginia Division of Labor Wage and Hour Section

Regulations

Administrative Law Title 42, Series 8, 42-8-9. Principles for determination of hours worked

9.1.  The workweek.  --  The workweek includes all time during which an employee is necessarily required to be on the employer's premises on duty or at a prescribed work place.

9.2.  Nonwork time.  --  Periods during which an employee is completely relieved from duty and which are long enough to enable him or her to use the time effectively for his or her own time are not hours worked.

9.3.  Work time.  --  The employee whose time is spent in physical or mental exertion under control and direction of the employer constitutes hours worked.

9.4.  General work.  --  General work not requested but allowed or permitted is work time.

9.5.  Preparation to work.  --  Changing of clothes or washing when indispensable to the employee's work or is required by law, or rules or regulations or by rule of the employer constitutes hours worked.

9.6.  Preliminary or postliminary activity.  --  Changing of clothes or washing when by contract, custom or practice is a preliminary or postliminary activity constitutes hours worked.

9.7.  Waiting time.  --  General waiting time will be counted as hours worked when based on the fact that the employee was engaged to wait.

9.8.  Mealtime.  --  Bona fide meal periods are not work time.

9.9.  Rest periods.  --  Rest periods of short duration, running from five (5) to twenty (20) minutes, must be counted as hours worked.

9.10.  On-call time.  --  On-call time:

(a) An employee who is required to remain on-call on the employer's premises, or so close thereto, or at his or her home so that he or she cannot use the time effectively for his own purposes is working while on-call.

(b) An employee who is not required to remain on the employer's premises but is merely required to leave word at his or her home or with his employer where he may be reached is not working while on-call.

9.11.  Extended periods on duty - duty of twenty-four (24) hours or more:

(a)  Where an employee is required to be on duty twenty-four (24) hours or more, the employer and employee may agree on a bona fide meal period and a bona fide regularly scheduled sleeping period of not more than eight (8) hours from hours worked, provided adequate sleeping facilities are furnished by the employer and the employee can usually enjoy an uninterrupted night's sleep.  Where no expressed or implied agreement to the contrary is present, the eight (8) hours of sleeping time and lunch periods constitute hours worked.

(b)  If the sleeping period is interrupted by a call to duty, the interruption counts as hours worked.  The entire period of interruption must be counted if the employee cannot get a reasonable night's sleep.

9.12.  Principal activity.  --  The term principal activity includes all activities which are an integral part of a principal activity.

http://apps.sos.wv.gov/adlaw/csr/ruleview.aspx?document=3565

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:

• Part 785 Hours Worked
• Part 778 Overtime Compensation