Should you be paid for the time taken out of your work day to learn a new task?
All of us may have to undergo additional training to meet new working duties from time to time. However, this time away from work brings up many questions from employers and employees alike. The most obvious being whether or not an employee has to pay their employee to undergo training.
Understanding The FLSA
The FLSA, known formally as the Fair Labor Standards Act, specifies that work-related activities require that the employee get paid. This includes time spent on completing coursework and training. However, as any Los Angeles workplace lawyer will reveal, there are some instances where the employee is not entitled to compensation. These include:
- Non-Job-Related Training
- Attendance Is Voluntary
- Training Happens Outside Of Normal Work Hours
- No Work Is Performed During The Training
As you’re likely thinking, these laws are somewhat in the grey area. Any Los Angeles restaurant worker rights lawyer can tell you that some of the FLSA is open to interpretation. Therefore, having an employee rights attorney for restaurant workers by your side is a necessity.
A Look At A Couple Different Scenarios
Any lawyer for restaurant employee discrimination Los Angeles will tell you the best way to learn a law is to study cases surrounding it. In this scenario, we’re going to take a look at two different examples of training.
In the first scenario, you’re a full-time employee who handles payroll. Your employer decides to upgrade to a new software system for scheduling and tracking employees. You’re required to undergo a two-hour training course about how to operate the new system. The two hours that you spend on training should be compensated by your employer.
On the other hand, let’s say you’re a full-time employee looking to get a promotion. The promotion requires the applicant to have a four-year degree as all management-level employees in that position hold. You decide to take night classes to obtain a four-year degree, so you’re eligible for the promotion. Your employment attorney Los Angeles will reveal that you’re not entitled to compensation for those classes as they weren’t mandatory for your current position.
Who Pays For Training-Related Expenses?
As you learned above, the FLSA outlines whether or not an employee should receive payment for their time spent training. The next logical question that you should be asking your Los Angeles restaurant worker rights lawyer is who pays for the training-related expenses? Unfortunately, the FLSA doesn’t address this aspect of training.
Any Employee rights attorney for restaurant workers will tell you that the answers to the question above depend on the state that you live in. In some states like California, an employer is responsible for paying all work-related expenses. This means that they must pay any costs that are associated with mandatory training.
However, your lawyer for restaurant employee discrimination Los Angeles will tell you that other states don’t have such laws. Rather, the answer to who pays comes down to an employee’s contract. Most labor unions use their collective bargaining agreement or CBA to address payment of training-related expenses, so there is no question later on down the road.
