Many employers routinely provide their employees with
Blackberries, cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices
with little thought to potential legal liability created by the use
of such technology. Given the rise of class action lawsuits brought
under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. § 201 et.
seq., ("FLSA"), employers should be mindful of the
pitfalls created by a digital workforce and take the appropriate
precautions.
The Fair Labor Standards Act
The FLSA requires covered employers to compensate employees for
all hours worked. Nonexempt employees (often referred to as hourly
employees) are entitled to overtime compensation at the rate of one
and a half times the employee's regular rate of pay for hours
worked over forty in a workweek. Employers must compensate
nonexempt employees for all time spent performing work that is for
the benefit of the employer. It does not matter that the employer
did not specifically request that the employee work after
