Healthcare & emergency response
Mental health case managers & crisis response staff
The short answer
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.
Crisis-line and mobile-response standby
Where staff must answer within minutes, log every contact, and be able to deploy with a partner, the restrictions resemble the compensable frequent-interruption pattern in Renfro v. City of Emporia, 948 F.2d 1529 (10th Cir. 1991), analyzed under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17.
Salaried does not mean exempt
Non-profit and county-contract employers often treat case managers as exempt administrators, but the exemption requires exercise of discretion on matters of significance under 29 C.F.R. § 541.200, and social workers performing direct client services generally are not exempt under 29 C.F.R. § 541.301(e). California requires more than half the time on exempt duties under Cal. Lab. Code § 515.
Documentation time
Charting and incident documentation completed after hours is hours worked that the employer must record under 29 U.S.C. § 211(c) and 29 C.F.R. § 516.2. California requires accurate itemized wage statements showing all hours under Cal. Lab. Code § 226.
Facts that usually decide these cases
- Immediate-answer crisis line duty
- Service-area confinement during rotations
- Salaried misclassification of direct-service staff
- Unpaid after-hours documentation
Weighed together under the framework of Owens v. Local No. 169, 971 F.2d 347 (9th Cir. 1992): 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.
Frequently asked questions
- I'm salaried and on crisis call every third week. Am I owed anything?
- Possibly. A salary does not create an exemption; the duties tests in 29 C.F.R. Part 541 must be met, and if you are non-exempt, compensable standby under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17 counts toward overtime under 29 U.S.C. § 207(a).
- Does after-hours charting count as work?
- Yes, and the employer must record it under 29 U.S.C. § 211(c). California also requires wage statements reflecting all hours worked under Cal. Lab. Code § 226.
Keep reading
Check your on-call case in three minutes.
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