Many employers ask that their employees be "on-call."
This usually means the employee is required to make a quick call to
check-in to see if they have to come in to work. Most employers
assume they don't have to pay wages for that call, but in
California, that widely held belief may be changing.
Recently, a California court held that employees in the
mercantile industry who are subject to on-call scheduling must be
paid for at least two hours – even when they do not have to
physically report to work for a shift and are only required to
place a brief phone call to determine whether they are
needed. While this court decision was focused on a specific
industry, employers that use this type of call-in method should
take notice.
