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ARTICLE · 15 MARCH 2017

"Pre-Shift" Does Not Mean "Before-Shift": Are Your Pre-Shift Meetings Violating The FLSA?

Fisher Phillips LLP
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The popular workplace practice of holding a "pre-shift" meeting to set the tone of the workday and communicate important announcements can be very beneficial and may even boost workplace morale.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Allison Kheel
Allison Kheel
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The popular workplace practice of holding a "pre-shift" meeting to set the tone of the workday and communicate important announcements can be very beneficial and may even boost workplace morale. But don't be fooled by this common "pre-shift" misnomer. If your meetings are not accurately recorded as worktime when computing non-exempt employees' wages, you may be violating the law and exposing your company to liability.

"Pre-Shift" Meetings Could Run Afoul Of FLSA

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees must be paid for every hour they are "suffered" or "permitted" to work. Activities that occur before the official time a shift begins are compensable if they include tasks the worker is employed to perform or are an "integral and indispensable part of" the job.

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