Quick Quiz: Pay For Being In On-Call Status

Chris is a non-exempt computer Help Desk employee.  During one workweek of each calendar quarter, after his normal shift ends he leaves his workplace but is on-call for eight hours a day for each of seven days.  On average, Chris gets two calls in a seven-day on-call period and spends a total of about two hours on the phone or on his laptop dealing with the matters that prompted the calls.

For each eight-hour period he is on-call, Chris is paid $50 whether or not he is actually called or does any work.  If he performs any work, he accurately records and is properly paid under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act for all of that time.

If Chris works a total of more than 40 hours in an on-call workweek, do the $50 payments have any impact upon his FLSA overtime compensation?

[Editor's Note:  Click here for the answer.]