On-call & hours worked.
The short answer
On-call time must be paid when your employer's restrictions are severe enough that you cannot use the time effectively for your own purposes — the standard in 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, drawn from Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134 (1944). California is stricter: hours the employer controls are hours worked under Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, 60 Cal. 4th 833 (2015), and IWC Wage Order 4-2001 § 2(K).
The five factors courts weigh
Federal courts apply the framework of Owens v. Local No. 169, 971 F.2d 347 (9th Cir. 1992). Frequent callouts plus a tight response window is the pattern that most often makes the entire shift compensable — see Renfro v. City of Emporia, 948 F.2d 1529 (10th Cir. 1991).
- Geographic restriction — how far you may travel while on call
- Response time — how many minutes you have to answer or arrive
- Call frequency — how often the phone actually rings
- Personal interference — what the rotation stops you from doing
- Trade or refusal rights — whether you can hand the shift off
On-call pay by job
Each guide covers the typical rotation, the facts that decide the case, the citations behind the rule, and what the unpaid hours are worth.
Restoration & disaster response
Water mitigation & restoration
If your restoration employer requires you to stay within a set drive time of the shop, answer within a fixed window, and keep a loaded truck ready, your entire on-call rotation is very likely compensable “hours worked” under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17 — not just the minutes you spend extracting water. In California the standard is stricter still: employer control alone makes the time payable under Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, 60 Cal. 4th 833 (2015).
ReadCrime scene & biohazard cleanup
Biohazard and trauma-scene crews are usually dispatched by coroner's offices, police agencies, or property managers with no warning, and the standby time is compensable whenever the employer's restrictions prevent normal use of your own hours under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. California treats control alone as decisive under Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, 60 Cal. 4th 833 (2015).
ReadFire & smoke damage restoration
Board-up and smoke-remediation crews are typically dispatched within hours of a fire being knocked down, and if your employer requires a fixed response window and a nearby location while you wait, that waiting time is compensable under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. California applies the stricter control test from Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, 60 Cal. 4th 833 (2015).
ReadStorm & disaster recovery crews
Catastrophe crews deployed after hurricanes, floods, and wildfires are often held on unpaid standby for days and then paid only for wrench time, but standby under tight employer control is compensable under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. Travel that is part of the principal activity, and all travel between sites, is hours worked under 29 C.F.R. § 785.38.
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Skilled trades
Emergency plumbers
If you carry the after-hours phone, must accept calls, keep a company van at home ready to roll, and must arrive within a set number of minutes, your on-call nights are very likely compensable “hours worked” under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17 rather than free availability. California is stricter and pays for time under employer control alone: Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, 60 Cal. 4th 833 (2015).
ReadEmergency leak detection
Leak detection work is driven by insurance carriers and property managers who call the moment water appears, so techs are held on standby with tight response promises — and that standby is compensable when the restrictions block personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. California pays for time under the employer's control regardless of how the wait feels: Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, 60 Cal. 4th 833 (2015).
ReadElectrical & HVAC service techs
Electricians and HVAC service techs on a nightly or weekend rotation are owed pay for the standby period whenever the employer's restrictions keep them from using the time effectively for themselves under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. Under California law, hours the employer controls are hours worked under IWC Wage Order 4-2001 § 2(K).
ReadField service & equipment repair
Field service techs held ready for urgent customer breakdowns are owed pay for standby whenever the restrictions prevent effective personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, judged by the factors in Owens v. Local No. 169, 971 F.2d 347 (9th Cir. 1992). Loose pager duty with free movement is generally unpaid: Bright v. Houston Northwest Medical Center, 934 F.2d 671 (5th Cir. 1991).
ReadEmergency roadside assistance
Roadside and tow operators who must stay staged in a service area waiting for dispatch are performing compensable waiting time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15, not unpaid availability, and only genuinely relieved off-duty periods are excludable under 29 C.F.R. § 785.16. California pays for all time under employer control per IWC Wage Order 9-2001 § 2(K).
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Healthcare & emergency response
Healthcare — nurses, techs, physicians
Hospital and clinic call shifts are compensable when the restrictions — a short arrival deadline, a bar on leaving the area, or a duty to stay fit to work — prevent effective personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. Where staff merely carry a phone and can move freely, courts have found the time unpaid: Dinges v. Sacred Heart St. Mary's Hospitals, Inc., 164 F.3d 1056 (7th Cir. 1999).
ReadEMS — paramedics & EMTs
EMS crews on station standby are generally working, because time spent on the employer's premises awaiting calls is hours worked under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15; home standby depends on the severity of the restrictions under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. Sleep time may be excluded from a 24-hour shift only under the narrow conditions in 29 C.F.R. § 785.22.
ReadVeterinary care
Veterinary practices commonly run unpaid overnight rotations, but call time is compensable whenever the practice's restrictions keep you from using the hours for yourself under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. Veterinary technicians are non-exempt in nearly all cases, so callback hours over 40 are owed at time and a half under 29 U.S.C. § 207(a).
ReadMental health case managers
Crisis rotations that require you to answer immediately, stay in the service area, and be ready to deploy are compensable standby under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, not volunteer availability. Case managers paid a salary are still non-exempt unless they meet a duties test in 29 C.F.R. Part 541.
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Infrastructure & operations
IT & system administrators
Pager rotations are compensable when the restrictions — a short acknowledgement window, a bar on being away from connectivity, or constant paging — prevent personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, and every minute actually spent on an incident is work time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.47. Whether you are owed overtime at all turns on the narrow computer employee exemption in 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(17) and 29 C.F.R. § 541.400.
ReadUtilities — electric, gas & water
Utility standby is compensable when the rules keep you effectively tied to the employer — a short reporting deadline, a bar on drinking, a requirement to take a company truck home ready to roll — under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. The Ninth Circuit analyzed exactly this arrangement for utility workers in Brigham v. Eugene Water & Electric Board, 357 F.3d 931 (9th Cir. 2004).
ReadBuilding maintenance & facilities
Facilities and maintenance staff on call for floods, outages, and lockouts are owed pay whenever the employer's restrictions block personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, and staff who live on site are covered by a separate reasonable-agreement rule in 29 C.F.R. § 785.23. California counts all time subject to employer control as hours worked under IWC Wage Order 5-2001 § 2(K).
ReadManufacturing maintenance crews
Maintenance crews held ready for equipment failures are owed pay for standby when the restrictions prevent effective personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, and every callout hour counts toward the 40-hour overtime threshold under 29 U.S.C. § 207(a). Pre-shift gear-up and shift-handoff time integral to the job is also compensable under 29 C.F.R. § 790.8.
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Public safety
Public safety & law enforcement
Officer standby is compensable when the restrictions substantially limit personal activity under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17 — the analysis the Third Circuit applied to police on-call rules in Ingram v. County of Bucks, 144 F.3d 265 (3d Cir. 1998). Law enforcement agencies may use extended work periods under 29 U.S.C. § 207(k) and 29 C.F.R. Part 553, which change the overtime threshold but not what counts as work.
ReadFire services
Firefighter standby is compensable when call frequency and restrictions keep the time from being usable for personal purposes — the exact holding of Renfro v. City of Emporia, 948 F.2d 1529 (10th Cir. 1991), under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. Fire protection personnel may be paid on an extended work period under 29 U.S.C. § 207(k) and 29 C.F.R. § 553.230.
ReadSecurity services
Security guards required to remain on site — including in a trailer or residence at the job site — are generally working under California law, which is the precise holding of Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, 60 Cal. 4th 833 (2015). Federally, on-premises waiting is hours worked under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15, and sleep-time exclusions are narrow under 29 C.F.R. § 785.22.
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Transportation & logistics
Airlines & aviation
Ground staff, ramp crews, and maintenance technicians on airport standby are performing compensable waiting time when they must remain at the field ready to work under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15, and home reserve depends on the severity of the restrictions under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. Coverage varies by role: air carrier employees subject to the Railway Labor Act are excluded from FLSA overtime under 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(3).
ReadPackage delivery & logistics
Drivers and dispatchers told to be available for volume spikes are owed pay for standby when the restrictions prevent effective personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, and waiting at a dock or terminal on the employer's orders is hours worked under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15. Overtime coverage may be limited by the motor carrier exemption in 29 U.S.C. § 213(b)(1).
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Service & commerce
Retail managers & shift leads
On-call retail shifts that require you to call in and hold the day open are compensable when the restrictions prevent using the time for yourself under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, and in California an on-call shift can trigger reporting-time pay even if you are never used: Ward v. Tilly's, Inc., 31 Cal. App. 5th 1167 (2019).
ReadHospitality & hotels
Hotel staff who must stay on property or in a provided room to cover overnight calls are generally working under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15, and any sleep-time exclusion is narrow under 29 C.F.R. § 785.22. California treats time subject to employer control as hours worked under IWC Wage Order 5-2001 § 2(K).
ReadCustomer service & call centers
Agents required to hold themselves available for surge coverage are owed pay when the restrictions prevent personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, and booting systems and loading software before the first call is compensable preliminary work under 29 C.F.R. § 790.8. The Department of Labor treats call center agents' start-up time as hours worked in Wage and Hour Opinion Letter FLSA2020-1.
ReadJournalism & media
Newsroom staff on a breaking-news rotation are owed pay for standby when the restrictions keep them from using the time for themselves under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, and many reporters and production staff are not exempt at all under the narrow creative professional test in 29 C.F.R. § 541.302(d).
ReadFinancial services operations
Operations, settlement, and support staff held on standby for time-sensitive processing windows are owed pay when the restrictions prevent effective personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17, and the administrative exemption applies only where the employee exercises discretion on matters of significance under 29 C.F.R. § 541.200.
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In-depth articles
- On-call pay laws: when your unpaid standby time is legally “hours worked”
If your employer controls where you can be, how fast you must answer, and what you can do while on call, that standby time is probably compensable — and probably overtime. Here is the exact test courts apply, the cases workers have won, and the dollars at stake.
- Water damage restoration technicians: is your unpaid on-call rotation illegal?
Restoration and mitigation techs are tethered to a 30- to 60-minute response window, a loaded truck, and a storm season that never sleeps. Here is when the law says that standby time has to be paid.
- Emergency plumbers: unpaid on-call nights, take-home vans, and the pay you're owed
Dispatch apps, service vans parked in your driveway, and a phone that must be answered in 20 minutes. Those are the facts that turn an unpaid on-call rotation into a wage claim — and the app logs are your evidence.
Precedent in the library
- Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro
138 S. Ct. 1134 (2018) · U.S. Supreme Court
- Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk
574 U.S. 27 (2014) · U.S. Supreme Court
- Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo
577 U.S. 442 (2016) · U.S. Supreme Court
- Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court
4 Cal. 5th 903 (2018) · California Supreme Court
Frequently asked questions
- When is on-call time legally “hours worked”?
- When the employer's restrictions are severe enough that you cannot use the time effectively for your own purposes, the whole on-call period is compensable under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17 and Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134 (1944). California is stricter and asks only whether the employer controlled the time: Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, 60 Cal. 4th 833 (2015).
- What factors do courts weigh?
- Geographic limits, required response time, call frequency, interference with personal activity, and whether the shift can be traded — the framework of Owens v. Local No. 169, 971 F.2d 347 (9th Cir. 1992), applied under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17.
- Does unpaid on-call time create overtime?
- Yes. Compensable standby hours count toward the 40-hour threshold, so hours past 40 are owed at one and one-half times the regular rate under 29 U.S.C. § 207(a), and unpaid overtime is generally doubled as liquidated damages under 29 U.S.C. § 216(b).
- How long do I have to file?
- Two years federally, or three for willful violations, under 29 U.S.C. § 255(a); California unpaid wage claims generally run three years under Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 338, and up to four when pleaded as unfair competition under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17208.
- Can my employer retaliate if I ask about on-call pay?
- No. Retaliation for asserting FLSA rights is unlawful under 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3), and California separately prohibits retaliation for wage complaints under Cal. Lab. Code § 98.6.
General legal information, not legal advice. OvertimeLaw.ai is not a law firm. For advice on your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.