HUMAN RESOURCES ROLE IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Mergers and acquisitions are extremely challenging and even chaotic events. Therefore, it is critical that everyone involved has a clear understanding of their role in the process. Mergers and acquisitions have become the norm in the business world and are often necessary for survival. Almost every major company in the US today has or will experience a major acquisition. There is a subtle yet distinct difference between a merger and an acquisition. A merger is when two separate companies merge into one new entity. An acquisition is when one company buys the assets of another company. A merger or acquisition can be desired due to many different strategic reasons including positioning in the market, acquiring another company’s areas of strength or expertise, acquiring capital, diversification and short term growth. There are several phases or steps in the acquisition process and human resources will typically be involved in at least 2 to 3 of these phases including the due diligence and investigation process and the post-merger integration process.

The human resource role in the due diligence and investigation process is to perform a thorough review of all human resource contracts, benefit plans, plan documents, systems, personnel, employment records, all forms of compensation, policies and procedures especially related to human resource regulations that relate to all human resource disciplines including compensation, benefits, recruiting, employee relations, training and development and payroll and HRIS. Human Resources will also help to determine the organizational structure and staffing models for the new organization. Some other important items that fall under the Human Resources umbrella are wage and hour or other compliance claims, employment litigations, collective bargaining agreements, any FMLA, OSHA, Workers Compensation, EEOC and OFCCP compliance issues.

Transition issues need to be discovered and addressed, for example pay levels between the two organizations may be very different and a cost analysis may be needed to determine the cost of bringing pay levels more in line between the two merging entities. Other transition issues that often need addressed are transitioning pay increase and performance review cycles, differences between benefit levels in health care and retirement plans. Most items will need to be addressed immediately, and some items can be completed during the first or second year following the merger or acquisition. For example if the acquisition occurs in the first quarter and your merit increases are done in January, you may be able to wait until the following January for this transition. Conversely, it will be highly desirable to transition the acquired entity employees immediately to your health and welfare plans rather than take on the administrative burden and ownership risk of additional plans.

Human Resources is also responsible for layoffs, stay bonuses, culture differences and synergies and will play a key role in the orientation and welcoming of the new employees. These are just a few key items on the Human Resources Acquisition Checklist. And each item has its own list of key points and issues that must be addressed. While most of the transition work will happen prior to the closing date, the job of transitioning employees into your policies, pay models, practices, procedures and culture does not end at transition date and typically continues for 2 to 3 years following the transition date and requires continued review at the management level.

Change can be challenging and demanding. With over 5,000 properties in our lodging compensation database, 150 casinos, and 125 hospitals and clinics, we regularly see properties being acquired, divested, and rebranded. Consolidations are occurring at a rapid pace in the healthcare industry as well with hospitals buying physician groups and primary care practices. There are numerous human resources concerns to address every time a property changes hands. WageWatch consultants can guide you through the process of integrating two or more compensation models, rebalancing grades and ranges, examining internal equities between plan documents, developing a market based approach to resolve inconsistencies, and helping you along the way with all your transition needs. For more information on our services, including consulting, salary survey data, benefit survey data and market compensation reports, please call WageWatch at 888-330-9243 or contact us online.

SALARY STRUCTURES: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?

Established salary structures aren’t mandatory. There is no law that requiring them, but they serve many useful purposes. Having salary ranges in place can ensure that salary decisions, from new hires to promotions, are made with objective and consistent rules and parameters. They provide at least a first line of defense against salary discrimination, intentional or otherwise, by ensuring that employees performing the same job are granted the same salary opportunity. And formal salary ranges provide you with a tool for proactively managing and budgeting your salary dollars.

Salary structures help ensure that pay levels for groups of jobs are competitive externally and equitable internally. A well-designed salary structure allows management to reward performance and skills development and control overall base salary cost by providing a cap on the range paid.

A salary structure enables employers to pay employees in a given position consistently for the work they do. Salary ranges also offer flexibility enabling a company to pay higher in the range for an employee based on a greater level of education, experience or performance. In the same way, it can potentially save on labor costs when hiring employees with limited backgrounds.

Having well documented and communicated salary ranges can minimize employees’ pay equity concerns and greivances.

A good salary structures will help organizations:

Attract and retain suitable, qualified and experienced employees
Build High Morale with Internal Equity
Create more Satisfied Employees and thus Reduce Turnover
Minimize Favoritism and Bias
Provide a structure for Career Progression
Serve as a sound basis for collective bargaining and employee relations management

If the salary structure gets out of sync with the overall labor market, a company may find itself paying employees too much and needlessly increasing operating costs, or paying employees too little and having difficulty attracting and retaining talent.

A study of the current labor market will provide new information to determine whether the organization’s pay structure, policies and practices, job classifications and job titles are appropriate or needing adjustment.

WageWatch offers accurate, up-to-date HR metrics, benefit survey data, market compensation data and salary reports that will allow you to stay current with the times. This information is highly beneficial in creating the best salary and benefits packages that meet or rival the industry standards. The PeerMark™ Wage Survey is the only Web-based custom survey tool that allows individual survey participants to select their competitive set for comparison purposes. Our experienced compensation consultants can assist with your organization’s compensation needs. We can help you ensure internal equity and compliance with regulations as well as help you structure your compensation programs to support your company’s business strategy and objectives. For more information on our services, including consulting, salary survey data, benefit survey data and market compensation reports, please call WageWatch at 888-330-9243 or contact us online.

INNOVATION IN HUMAN RESOURCES TODAY

How can human resources contribute to innovation? How can we turn new ideas into reality, break old paradigms and step outside of the box with new solutions to old problems? Innovation may begin with creativity but it is more than an idea — it takes place when great ideas come to fruition and make their mark in the world. In the past, most businesses focused on continuous improvement of their products and services to maintain a competitive edge. But in today’s economy, that’s not always enough.

As Human Resource professionals, we are fortunate to be responsible for many areas of an organization that can directly impact and contribute to innovation; including recruitment, performance management, recognition, rewards, training, and employee engagement. Human Resources can also play a key role in creating an organizational structure and overall culture that fosters and supports innovation.

Recruiting can focus on hiring for innovation by identifying people who can “think outside the box” or have skills and capabilities that lend toward innovation. Performance management can serve as a valuable tool in the creation of a sustainable culture of innovation. Performance measures can give consideration as to whether or not employees are given the time and resources to experiment, generate and explore ideas, and make presentations to management. Rewards can be used to reinforce the importance of innovation and recognition can be used to encourage and inspire employees to innovate and share ideas. HR’s role in organizational design provides huge potential for enabling innovation. For example, organizational design can be used to facilitate easier exchange of employees’ ideas across boundaries and functions.

An example of a human resource driven innovation that used an out-of-the-box idea to improve the recruiting process is La Canterra Resort in San Antonio, TX, A Destination Hotel, they have incorporated an idea made popular by Disney, the Fast PASS. In Disney’s version, guests can avoid the line and use a Fast PASS to get a ticket to ride an attraction at a specified time with limited to no waiting. This helps improve the guest experience, improves wait times, improves communication and enhances the ability to meet the expectation of guests. At Destination Hotels, they have incorporated this concept into their recruitment practices. Special “FAST PASS” cards are given to managers who can spot people in their daily interactions (at grocery stores, restaurants, bars, the mall, etc…) providing exceptional customer service and invite them to consider an employment opening/opportunity with Destination. They can call a specific number and get a “prioritized / guaranteed” in person interview as opposed to filling out an application during certain hours and hoping to a chance to be considered. Like Disney, the approach at Destination Hotels, improves the experience for the candidate and the HR function / hiring managers. It speeds up the ability to source the most qualified talent and create a match to open positon needs at the resort. Destination competes on innovation.

While HR can have a significant impact on many of the key drivers of innovation, it is a collaborative process and requires many areas to come together in order to succeed. Executive leaders hold the key to the level and success of innovation in their organization. They control the strategic direction, influence the culture, and directly and indirectly control all organizational practices. Managers must know how to lead innovative teams, and individuals must know how to apply innovative thinking. Every department or function must be part of the process. For example, Information Technology has become an enabler of innovative ideas, but it is also often the starting point for innovative products or services and Finance has a unique opportunity through the budget development to add innovation either as a line in the overall budget or as a percentage of every departmental budget.

Organizations need to develop practices that make it easier to innovate. For example, at the core of an organization’s culture should be an acceptance of the need to experiment and understand that this comes with the risk of failure and that failure needs to be seen as a learning experience and an important step in the process. Culture is definitely key to sustainable innovation. The mindset and culture of the HR team has an exponential impact and influence on the entire organization. HR leaders can help enable their organizations to differentiate themselves by understanding the critical importance of innovation today and how their role can contribute by attracting and keeping the most innovative people, constantly improving their skills and creating and enabling a culture of innovation.

ALIGNING COMPENSATION WITH COMPANY CULTURE

Many organizations today are focusing on their company’s culture including determining their culture, deciding what it should be, aligning with strategic goals and transitioning to the desired culture. Culture is important because it reinforces the values in the organization, which in turn shapes team members behavior. There are many success stories of companies with cultures that are aligned to their business goals including Google, Zappos, and Patagonia. These companies have not only developed a culture that supports their business, but have fully embraced their culture.

Organizational culture is the collective behavior of the people who are part of the organization and has important effects on the morale and motivation of the organizational members. It includes the values, norms, systems, beliefs, attitudes and habits of the organization and affects the interactions of the employees with each other, and with customers. Even before you define it, you know it is there and that it has an impact on your business. This is why it is so important to internalize the culture and understanding when company activities are in sync or not with the culture.

Once the company values and desired culture are defined, compensation can support and help drive the values and corporate culture. It is important that the role of compensation in an organization and the compensation strategy are also defined. For example, where does the organization want to set pay levels in comparison to the competitive market? Perhaps the organization’s culture is strong on training and developing its employees, acknowledging their successes and offering advancement opportunities. This in turn may allow the organization to set lower pay levels than what is paid in the market. Of course, when recruiting it is important to align the compensation strategy to support the values of the culture through highlighting performance management, performance appraisals and the goal setting process for each team member.

Once values, business objectives and desired behaviors are determined then compensation plans can be put in place to support the culture. For example, if the business objective is innovation and the desired behavior is risk-taking, then short term incentives may be the compensation strategy. If the goal is for a highly trained workforce and the behavior is learning and upgrading skills, then skill or competency based pay may be the compensation strategy.

Corporate culture is about people’s behaviors – how goals are accomplished – so to establish a culture that drives company success, organizations should link a significant component of their compensation systems to behaviors.

At WageWatch our compensation consultants can assist with your organization’s compensation needs and help you ensure that your compensation programs are supporting your company’s business strategy and objectives. WageWatch also offers accurate, up-to-date benefit survey data, market compensation data and salary reports that will allow you to stay current with the times. This information is highly beneficial in creating the best salary and benefits packages that meet or rival the industry standards. For more information on our services, including consulting, salary survey data, benefit survey data and market compensation reports, please call WageWatch at 888-330-9243 or contact us online .

MERIT BUDGET ALLOCATION

A primary goal of any compensation program is to motivate employees to perform at their best. Most organizations have pay for performance at least in the form of a merit pay system. An accurate, reliable and credible performance-appraisal program that is aligned with company goals, core values and industry best practices is the foundation of a successful merit pay program. Performance measures should be tailored specifically for the organization and its jobs with clear outcomes that minimize bias and misinterpretation. Consistency, manager training, effective communications and a periodic review are also essential for success.

The merit pay budget has two aspects to it: 1) determining the size of the budget and 2) allocating the budget to organizational units and its employees. Determining the size of the budget will be based on competitive trends, the organization’s financial situation and other factors that may impact pay such as minimum wage and cost of living changes. For the past several years merit budgets have been small and therefore it has been a challenge to adequately reward top performers as well as those that are rated ‘Good’ and ‘Average’. Employees with performance ratings of ‘Good’ and ‘Average’ can be the largest percentage of employees and therefore the backbone of the workforce. These employees should not be overlooked but raises for these employees often do not keep up with the cost of living. Also the differentials between performance levels may not be large enough to motivate and retain employees. These factors reduce the motivational potential of the merit pay program.

Using a merit increase matrix may help to maintain internal equity but may not properly reward top performers. You want your reviewing managers to be engaged in the merit award process and to give appropriate thought and consideration to their pay decisions. A certain amount of guidance and training is needed but the merit matrix can be too structured and rigid as well as make it too easy for reviewing managers to simply follow the formula rather than spend the time and effort for a thorough review. Greater rewards for top performers and greater deviation of awards between good and average performers can be accomplished by providing zero increases to employees whose performance falls below average. Providing broad increase guidelines in lieu of a matrix to your reviewing managers using factors such as performance rating, time in position, and position in salary range can eliminate the rigidity of the merit matrix and drive a more thoughtful approach to the merit award process. Once tentative award amounts are determined, reviewing managers should perform an analysis of the awards looking at the whole department and at each individual award using these and other factors as well as any unique or special circumstances.

Annual pay increases not only help keep employees’ pay at market, providing awards that are accurately linked to performance are important in retaining employees, especially your best ones. Compensation frequently emerges as a driver of retention, and when pay increases aren’t provided regularly and fairly, it will negatively impact job satisfaction.

At WageWatch our compensation consultants are focused on your organization’s compensation needs and ready to help you ensure that your compensation programs are supporting your company’s business strategy and objectives and that your pay practices are fair, equitable and non-discriminatory. We can provide your business with compensation surveys and salary reports to help you establish a budget for your merit pay program, including bonuses and incentives. Our innovative company is a leader in the collection of data for surveys and salary reports, which allows us to provide services to a wide range of industries in both the private and public sector. To learn more about our compensation surveys, salary reports and other services, please call 480-237-6130 or contact us online.

WHEN TO EMPLOY SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM INCENTIVES

An employee compensation plan should provide a competitive wage and reward employees fairly and equitably for behaviors while accomplishing goals and objectives for the organization. Compensation is the reward an employee receives in return for his or her contribution to the organization. Basic components of a compensation package include base salary, incentives, and benefits.

Organizations implement incentive plans to help reach overall goals and objectives. Incentive plans range from variable pay plans to prizes and recognition awards. Incentive plans can motivate employees to go beyond expectations and produce results that contribute to business success. They also can attract new talent and encourage company loyalty. For an incentive plan to be effective, the goals must be obtainable.

So how do you determine whether a short-term or long-term incentive is appropriate? Short-term incentives are used to create focus on short-term or immediate goals, and align rewards with individual and business performance. Long-term incentives are typically designed for executives who make strategic decisions for the company. They can ensure focus on what’s best for the organization’s future outcomes by placing importance on medium and/or long-term goals and creating a sense of ownership of those goals. Successful incentive plans can also help organizations align rewards with shareholder interests, and help retain key talent.

Short term incentives can be for all employee levels from entry level to middle management to the executive level and they can be big or small and can cover a week, month, quarter or year of performance measurements and goals. Short term incentives can create a better work environment and motivate employees to work to their greatest potential. Without short term incentives, employees may feel that their work is unappreciated and morale can be low. Short term incentives align employees work with the overall success of the company and can clearly define an employee’s specific role in contributing to that success. Short term incentives such as prizes, free airline tickets or hotel stays, tickets to events or a paid day off can have high impact. Short-term incentives can be individual and/or team based. Rewarding employees for clearly defined goals can go a long way to creating happy employees who work well alone and together striving for success.

It is important to use both the short and the long term initiatives to produce desired results. Incentive programs that are carefully and strategically crafted and aligned with company goals and timeframes should lead to more productive, motivated and loyal team members. Retaining good employees saves organizations the expense of recruiting and training new workers.

At WageWatch our compensation consultants are focused on your organization’s compensation needs and ready to help you ensure that your compensation programs are supporting your company’s business strategy and objectives. WageWatch also offers accurate, up-to-date benefit surveys, salary surveys and pay practices data that will allow you to stay current with the times. This information is highly beneficial in creating the best salary and benefits packages that meet or rival the industry standards. For more information on our services, including consulting, salary survey data, benefit survey data and market compensation reports, please call WageWatch at 888-330-9243 or contact us online.

HOW TO BENCHMARK HYBRID JOBS

The traditional procedure for market pricing a job title begins by accurately matching your company’s job to the survey’s benchmarked job. To aid in this effort, WageWatch collects employee payroll data on 843 distinct job titles across all surveys for 2016. Each job title in the survey is provided with a job summary detailing the major functions of the role. Trying to match by exact job title alone can lead to inaccurate market pricing. The entire job summary should be analyzed to determine best fit, especially when using a compensation provider for the first time.

Even with 843 job titles surveyed, there are occasions where an exact market match cannot be made. There are several reasons for this. One common reason is this job performs a hybrid function. The economic downturn caused traditionally single function jobs to merge or collapse into multifunction positions. We also see hybrid jobs in small businesses and in business units experiencing changes in technology or services. Healthcare might need a job that requires both a technology and clinical expertise, or in hospitality, a job that conducts both sales and operations duties.

The rule of thumb WageWatch recommends is that if your company’s job function matches our benchmarked job title by at least 80%, then that’s is a suitable market match since the primary function of the job is the same. Another way to think of the 80% guideline is 4 out of 5 days of the week they are doing the same job. The 20% of the job that is not an exact match falls into the ubiquitous “other duties as assigned” category on the job description.

An example of a hybrid function is a hotel employee who supervises both the front desk and the maintenance teams. This job performs a split 50/50 role and cannot be accurately matched to either a Front Desk Manager or Maintenance Manger alone. This is where hybrid job pricing requires an additional calculation beyond the one-for-one market match.

To build upon the example, let’s say you have calculated that from your competitive set the market average rate of pay for Front Desk Manager is $18.00 and $22.00 for Maintenance Manager respectively. By weighing each rate by the amount of time spent in the function, you can calculate a hybrid market average rate of $20.00 for this job.

In another example, a healthcare clinic needs to market price a role that performs Registered Nurse duties (40%) and Database Administrator duties (60%) in a patient data management role. The WageWatch PeerMark report for the custom competitive set shows RN market average is $38.00/hr and Data Admin at $45.00/hr. The calculation for determining the hybrid market rate is as follows:

($38.00 x .40) + ($45.00 x .60) = $42.20

This hybrid pricing method works best when combing two market benchmarks. If you need to use three or more, we recommend you use an internal pricing strategy for this niche role. For assistance with hybrid job pricing, job matching, and market pricing please contact the WageWatch Consulting Team.

At WageWatch, our expert evaluators provide businesses in a large range of industries with accurate and beneficial benefits survey data, compensation surveys and salary reports to ensure that payment and benefits plans are on par with those in the industry. For more information on market compensation data, please call WageWatch at 888-330-9243 or contact us online (https://www.wagewatch.com/Contact/ContactUs.aspx).

JOINT EMPLOYER LIABILITY

The use of sub-contractors, temporary staffing, leased employees and independent contractors can provide employers with quick temporary staffing and reduce benefits and payroll costs. However, the employer client can be considered a joint employer with the leasing or temporary agency when they share certain key employment terms such as the ability to hire, fire or discipline the workers, affect their compensation and benefits, and direct and supervise their performance. When businesses use temporary agency, leased, or contract workers, though the employer is the temporary help, leasing, or contracting company, the client business may be regarded as a joint employer under some laws.

The Family and Medical Leave Act has specific language regarding joint employer relationships. While the leasing or temporary help agency is the primary employer, the client company may be required to place the worker in the same or comparable position upon his or her return from FMLA leave. Additionally, leased and temporary workers will count as employees of the client company for the purposes of determining whether a business is subject to the FMLA regulations.

In the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982, leased and temporary workers are the client’s employees for the purposes of qualifying retirement plans and certain fringe benefits such as life insurance and cafeteria plans (does not apply to health insurance benefits), if the workers have been engaged with the client company on a full-time basis for a minimum of one year and the client company primarily controls or directs their work.

An employer can face a charge of discrimination under Title VII anti-discrimination legislation brought by an individual who worked for the employer under one of these leasing or sub-contractor relationships.

It has also come into question with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) whether leased and temporary workers must be included in collective bargaining agreements that cover the client’s regular employees.

Some states have passed legislation on joint employer liability as it pertains to workers’ compensation regulation. New York ruled that the client is the common law employer of leased employees and is therefore primarily responsible for providing workers’ compensation benefits. To date there have been no guidelines for joint employer status under OSHA or other health and safety regulations.

Employers need to be aware of and have guidelines regarding the degree of control they have over these temporary, leased and contract workers. The greater the degree of control, the greater the likelihood that the employer could be determined to be a joint employer.

At WageWatch our compensation consultants are focused on your organization’s compensation needs and ready to help you ensure that your compensation programs are supporting your company’s business strategy and objectives. WageWatch also offers accurate, up-to-date benefit surveys, salary surveys and pay practices data that will allow you to stay current with the times. This information is highly beneficial in creating the best salary and benefits packages that meet or rival the industry standards. For more information on our services, including consulting, salary survey data, benefit survey data and market compensation reports, please call WageWatch at 888-330-9243 or contact us online.

BUDGET SEASON: ARE YOU PREPARED?

It’s that time of year again when companies are preparing their budgets for the upcoming year. For HR professionals, it is probably not one of your favorite tasks, but by embracing the process, it can be an opportunity to reinforce the HR function as a strategic partner. In the WageWatch 6/12/13 blog, Budget Boot Camp, we covered the fundamentals of the HR Budgeting process. Now we will dive a little deeper into the specific elements of the HR Budget.

Budgets are used to monitor progress toward goals, help control spending, and predict cash flow and profit. The challenge is predicting the future 100% accurately and in turn developing effective budgets.

It is valuable for HR to gain a strong understanding and appreciation for the value of good annual budgeting. In most companies, employee costs constitute the majority of fixed costs and therefore the HR budget contains key and critical elements of the overall company budget.

Here are a few things you can do to make the budget process a smoother one:

Throughout the year, ensure to include the CFO when reviewing such things as pay increases with the CEO. This can go a long way to developing a partnership with the CFO.
The credibility of the HR function is significantly improved when you can demonstrate real savings and value for HR Projects and Processes.
Empower your HR team. Every HR team member should own their line items in the budget. For example, recruiting is responsible for their search firm fees, recruiting tools and relocation.
Link the development of your budget to corporate strategy. This gives a clearer understanding of strategic goals. And, in turn, should create greater support for the goals, and, a stronger companywide performance. The key to linking the two is communication. In order to communicate strategic goals, top management needs information about customers, competitors, technology, etc. and this information must come from support units such as Human Resources.

Budgeting requires the collection of many forms of data. From a human resource perspective, below are some items that would be included in the budget:Recruiting

Advertising & Agency fees
Employee referral program
Background checks / Drug Testing
Recruitment expenses
Applicant tracking system costs

Training

Training Programs
Travel expenses
Consulting fees

Compensation and Benefits

Payroll costs
Salaries & Overtime
Compensation surveys / Benefit surveys
Incentive compensation
Health and Welfare Benefits
Retirement Plan
Employee Assistance Program

Employee and Labor Relations

Recognition program / Service Awards
Employee Opinion Survey
Performance appraisal software
Employment and Labor relations expenses (attorneys, consultants)

Other

Strategic planning (data/consultants)
HR databases such as HRIS/subscriptions/memberships/books

At WageWatch our compensation consultants can assist with your organization’s compensation needs and help you ensure that your compensation programs are supporting your company’s business strategy and objectives. WageWatch also offers accurate, up-to-date benefit survey data, market compensation data and salary surveys that will allow you to stay current with the times. This information is highly beneficial in creating the best salary and benefits packages that meet or rival the industry standards. For more information on our services, including consulting, salary survey data, benefit survey data and market compensation reports, please call WageWatch at 888-330-9243 or contact us online .

COMPENSABLE TIME

Employers need to ensure they count all worked hours as paid hours for their non-exempt staff. For example, when an employee eats lunch at their workstation or desk and their lunch is interrupted by work such as answering phones or email, the employee is working and must be paid for that time because the employee has not been completely relieved from duty.

If the employer has a policy that is expressly and clearly communicated to the employee regarding a specific length of time for a break, any unauthorized extensions of that break time do not need to be counted as hours worked. Bona fide meal periods (typically 30 minutes or more) generally need not be compensated as work time. However, the employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purpose of eating regular meals.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), doesn’t require employers to provide meal or rest breaks, though some states do require such breaks and the rules can also be different for younger workers. You can find a list of state meal and rest break laws at the Department of Labor’s website at http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/meal.htm and http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/rest.htm.

Employers that fall under the federal guidelines do not have to pay for meal or rest breaks unless:

The employee works through or during their break, or
The break lasts 20 minutes or less, or
The break is interrupted by work

Some other compensable time under the federal rules can include waiting time, on-call time, attendance at meetings and training programs, travel time and performing work outside of work hours such as checking emails.

Waiting time may or may not be hours worked depending upon the circumstances. If an employee needs to wait before a duty can start such as a firefighter waiting for an alarm, then the employee is ‘engaged to wait’ and this time is worked time and must be paid.

On-Call Time is paid time if the employee is required to remain on the employer’s premises. In most cases the on-call time does not have to be paid when an employee is not required to remain on the employer’s premises. However additional requirements put on the on-call time that further limits the employee’s freedom could require the time to be compensated.

Attendance at meetings or training programs is paid time when any of the following conditions are true:

It is during normal hours,
It is mandatory,
- If the employee feels that they should or need to attend, then it is mandatory
- It is job related

Travel time may be paid time or not depending upon the kind of travel involved. Regular commute time to and from the work site is not paid time. When the employee works at a different work site location then any commute time that is greater than the employee’s regular commute time to their usual work site needs to be counted as paid time.

Travel that is part of the regular work duties, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday, is work time and must be counted as hours worked. Overnight travel is work time and must be paid time