MediaStars Commentary
Are You Being Paid For Texts And Emails?
Its no secret that working in broadcasting requires more than just producing, writing, shooting or presenting a story on-air. Are you being compensated for everything you're expected to do?
Technology has made the world a very small place AND stations/networks want you to be connected and communicating through all sorts of platforms. Clients and followers of this Agency know that we're huge proponents and negotiators of successful social media branding. But have you thought about all those texts and emails you get from the station? What about the pressure to continually post on your station branded social media platforms?
David McDowell is a partner and director of the Litigation Department at Rose Law Group. He says, certain employees are entitled to overtime when sending and receiving work related texts and emails:
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.) requires employers to pay non-exempt employees for all overtime hours worked – including any overtime spent emailing, texting, or on the phone. More importantly, employers are liable for failure to make these required overtime payments even if the employee fails to record the time and even if the time is in violation of company policy.
If the employer sends or receives an email or text message, or receives or places a call to an employee after hours that is related to the employee’s work, the employer is responsible for payment of any overtime incurred, even if that communication is contrary to a written policy forbidding employees from working overtime by email, text, or phone. Because the employer received or placed that communication, the employer has knowledge of the overtime incurred and cannot avoid liability for failure to pay, even if the employee fails to record the overtime due to the prohibition against overtime.
Even in those instances where the employer did not initiate or receive the communication, but benefitted from it, the employer is responsible for the overtime incurred. If a non-exempt employee submits an assignment to the employer, places an order for fulfillment by the employer, or makes other communications which result in business for the employer, and the employer accepts the benefit of an after-hours communication, the employer is deemed to have constructive knowledge of the overtime and is, therefore, required to pay for it whether or not the time is submitted by the employee.
WHOA, really? Now that's going to leave a mark! I don't know of any newsroom that doesn't rely on consistent texting and emailing of crews in the field or on assignment. While that's OK during your scheduled shift, how many times have you gotten a text from the newsroom after you've left for the day? A question about a story? Asking where some notes are? Wondering what you're working on tomorrow? Texting a simple question about the content of a script? Confirming you're going straight to a location tomorrow rather than the station? Its as commonplace as responding with LOL.
It also seems that posting to station Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms outside of scheduled work hours, would fall under this, too, because the company benefits from these posts.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out and whether or not a lot of company policies get re-written to comply with having to pay overtime for texting, posting, and emailing? I doubt there will be any LOL's coming from HR.
You can read David McDowell's full blog on this subject by clicking here. 
