Hours Worked

(1) Reporting Pay. When an employee who is scheduled to work three or more hours reports for duty at the time set by the employer, and that employee is not provided with the expected hours of work, the employee shall be paid for at least three hours on such day at no less than the basic minimum wage. 454 CMR 27.04 shall not apply to organizations granted status as charitable organizations under the Internal Revenue Code. (2) On-call Time. All on-call time is compensable working time unless the employee is not required to be at the work site or another location, and is effectively free to use his or her time for his or her own purposes. (3) Sleeping Time and Working Shifts. (a) An employee required to be on duty at the work site for less than 24 hours is working even if the employee is permitted to sleep or engage in other personal activities when not busy. (b) Where an employee is required to be on duty at the worksite for 24 hours or more, the employer and employee may agree in writing prior to performance of the work to exclude bona fide meal periods and a bona fide regularly scheduled sleeping period of not more than eight hours from working time, provided the employer provides adequate sleeping quarters and the employee can enjoy an uninterrupted period of sleep. If no prior written agreement is made, sleeping time and meal time will constitute compensable working time. If the sleeping period is interrupted by a call to duty, all time on duty must be counted as working time. If the sleeping period is interrupted to such an extent that the employee cannot get a reasonable period of sleep, the entire period must be counted as working time. (c) If an employee resides on an employer's premises on a permanent basis or for extended periods of time, not all time spent on the premises is considered working time. The employer and the employee may make any reasonable written agreement as to hours worked which takes into consideration all of the pertinent facts; provided, however, that the employee shall be compensated for all time in which job-related duties are actually performed, and on-call time shall be compensated in accordance with 454 CMR 27.04(2). (4) Travel Time. (a) Ordinary travel between home and work is not compensable working time. (b) If an employee who regularly works at a fixed location is required to report to a location other than his or her regular work site, the employee shall be compensated for all travel time in excess of his or her ordinary travel time between home and work and shall be reimbursed for associated transportation expenses. (c) If an employer requires an employee to report to a location other than the work site or to report to a specified location to take transportation, compensable work time begins at the reporting time and includes subsequent travel to and from the work site. (d) An employee required or directed to travel from one place to another after the beginning of or before the close of the work day shall be compensated for all travel time and shall be reimbursed for all transportation expenses. (e) Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight shall be compensated in a manner consistent with 29 C.F.R. § 785.39.