Wage and Hour Defense Blog

There is a substantial difference between the definition of "hours worked" adopted by the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement ("DLSE") and that used by the Department of Labor ("DOL") under the FLSA. Under California law, it is generally only necessary that the worker be subject to the "control of the employer" or "all the time the employee is suffered or permitted to work" in order to be entitled to pay. These two phrases operate independently of each other, so that if time falls into either category, it must be counted as hours worked.