Hours worked
West Virginia minimum wage laws require employees be paid for all hours worked. Hours worked is defined to include the time an employee is under the control and direction their employer. WV Statute 21-5C-1(h); WV Admin. Code 42-5-3.12. It also includes all time an employer requires, permits, or suffers an employee to work. WV Statute 42-8-3.6 Hours worked includes time an employee spends changing clothes or washing, when such activities are required by law or by the employer for safety, decontamination or production reasons. WV Admin. Code 42-8-11.2
Workweek
West Virginia minimum wage laws define a workweek as a regularly recurring period of 168 hours which is the equivalent of seven (7) consecutive 24-hour periods. The workweek does not need to coincide with the calendar week and may begin on any day of the calendar week and at any hour of the day. WV Statute 42-5-3.19.
Waiting time
West Virginia minimum wage laws require employers to count time spent by employees waiting as hours worked for purposes of its minimum wage and overtime requirements if the employer engages the employee to be engaged to wait. WV Admin. Code 42-8-11.6
On-call time
West Virginia minimum wage laws require employers to count time spent by employees on-call as hours worked for purposes of its minimum wage and overtime requirements if the employees are required to remain on or so near the employer’s premises or their home that they cannot use the time effectively for their own purposes. Employers do not need to count on-call time as hours worked if employees are not required to remain at the employer’s premises and are merely required to leave word at their home or with their employer where they may be reached. WV Admin. Code 42-8-3.23, 11.4
Sleeping time
When employees are required to be on duty for 24 hours or more, West Virginia minimum wage laws allow employers and employees to enter into an express or implied agreement that permits employers to exclude from the employee’s hours worked:
- bona fide meal and rest break periods of 30 consecutive or more minutes and
- employers must count meal and rest break periods as hours worked if the breaks are interrupted by a call to duty.
- regularly scheduled sleeping periods from the employee’s hours worked.
- employers must count a sleeping period as hours worked if the employee cannot get at least five (5) hours sleep during the sleeping period because they are interrupted by a call or calls to duty.
Travel time
West Virginia minimum wage laws include as hours worked time spent walking, riding, or traveling to and from the employee’s actual place of principal activity or activities. WV Statute 21-5C-1
West Virginia minimum wage laws require employees to pay employees for travel time that do not require an overnight stay when:
- the employee spends time traveling away from and returning to the employees assigned work location and
- the time spent traveling involves the employee performing their job assignment and responsibilities.
Employers must pay employees for travel time that requires an overnight stay when:
- an employee spend time traveling during their normal work hours on any day of the week including days when the employee is not normally scheduled to work such as Saturday or Sunday, and
- an employee travels before or after their normal work hours on any day of the week, including days when the employee is not normally scheduled to work, such as Saturday or Sunday, except for time the employee spends as a passenger in an automobile or taxi or on an airplane, train, boat, or bus and does not engage in any other job duties during that time. If the employee engages in job duties during the travel time as a passenger in an automobile or taxi or on an airplane, train, boat, or bus, the employer must include the time spent doing job duties as hours worked.
Meeting, lecture, and training time
West Virginia minimum wage laws require employer to count meeting, lecture, or training time as hours worked if the employer requires the employee to attend or present at the meeting, lecture, and training. This includes travel time to attend or present at the meeting, lecture, or training and the time attending and/or preparing for them. An employer is not required to include meeting, lecture, or training time as hours worked if the employee voluntarily chooses on their own to attend or present material at the meeting, lecture, or training.
Show up or reporting time
West Virginia minimum wage laws do not require employers to pay employees for reporting or showing up to work if no work is performed. An employer is also not required to pay an employee a minimum number of hours if the employer dismisses the employee from work prior to completing their scheduled shift. Employers are only required to pay employees for hours actually worked.
