Broadly, if the employee is “engaged to wait,” that time is considered work time. Waiting Time: Whether waiting time counts as work time is somewhat ambiguous and thus depends on the particular circumstances.Here is how the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) addresses some common work-related activities in the context of work time: It is definedas “any work performed by an employee for the benefit of an agency, whether requested or not, provided the employee’s supervisor knows or has reason to believe that the work is being performed and has an opportunity to prevent the work from being performed.” These hours are considered work time and are compensable. This principle is called “suffered or permitted to work” time by the Department of Labor. An employer may not accept the benefit(s) of work performed by its nonexempt employees without counting the time in computing the employee's pay. If an employer does not wish you to perform work, it must keep you from working if it does not wish to pay for that work. The employer is charged with controlling the work of its employees. "Unauthorized" or "unapproved" work is work and must be counted (provided that the employer knows or should know it is being done and permits you to do it anyway). "Voluntary" work is work, and the time must be counted. Work done "at home" or at a place other than the normal work site is work, and the time must be counted as work time for which you are paid. In addition, all time you spend performing work-related activities that the employer permits is work time, whether on your employer's premises or not, and whether "required" or not. This includes most " breaks" (if there are breaks), and "nonproductive" time (for example, time spent by a call center employee waiting for the phone to ring). With only a few exceptions, all time an employee is required to be at the premises of the employer is work time. Employers cannot "allow" you to work on your "own time." If your employer knows that you are doing work (or could have found out by looking), and lets you do it, your employer will be responsible for paying for your work time. This not only includes your regular "on-the-clock" work time, but also includes any "off-the-clock" time you spend performing job-related activities which benefit your employer. The basic principle guiding "work time" is that an employee must be paid for any time spent on activities that are controlled by and that benefit the employer. Workers are often confused about what activities are considered "work" for which they must be paid, as opposed to activities for which the employer has no legal obligation to pay the employee.