California On-Call and Standby Time Policy

Purpose/Objective

Employees of [Company Name] may be required to serve in an on-call capacity to respond to an unforeseen circumstance or emergency and, if such circumstance arises, to report to work after the end of the employees’ regular shifts and before the beginning of their next scheduled shifts.

Eligibility

Nonexempt employees who are placed on call by [their supervisors/department managers/other job title].

Procedures

Restricted on-call duty

Employees placed on restricted on-call duty are expected to remain either on the work premises or in a geographic vicinity that permits the employee to respond to an authorized call to work within [15 minutes]. Employees on restricted on-call duty will be paid as follows:

1. For time spent waiting for an authorized call to work, employees will be paid their [regular hourly rate/minimum wage]. [If minimum wage: Employees must separately record their time spent waiting for an authorized call to work and the time they spent responding to a call.]
2. For time spent responding to an authorized call to work, including the time spent traveling to and from work, employees will be paid their regular hourly rates, and the employees will be paid for all time spent responding to an authorized call to work, or a minimum of two hours, whichever is greater.

Employees on restricted on-call duty are required to comply with applicable company policies, including the company’s Drug and Alcohol Policy.

Unrestricted on-call duty

Employees placed on unrestricted on-call duty are free to [respond to authorized calls to work within [4 hours]/decline to respond to a call to work]. Employees on unrestricted on-call duty will be paid as follows:

1. While waiting for authorized calls to work, employees are free to engage in personal activities, and consequently such time is not considered work time.
2. If employees on unrestricted on-call time respond to authorized calls to work, the employees will be paid their regular hourly rates for time spent responding to authorized calls to work, including the time spent traveling to and from work, or a minimum of two hours, whichever is greater.

Employees on unrestricted on-call duty are required to comply with applicable company policies during the time they are responding to an authorized call to work, including the company’s Drug and Alcohol Policy.

Employees with questions regarding this policy should contact [human resources/other job title].