Hours worked is the foundation of nearly every wage-and-hour compliance question. The FLSA defines it broadly: time the employee is required to be on duty, suffered or permitted to work, or on the employer's premises for the employer's benefit. That definition catches a lot of activity that employees and employers don't always count: short breaks, pre-shift setup, post-shift clean-up, travel between job sites, training time, and on-call time that restricts personal activity. Getting hours worked wrong is the single most common source of DOL wage-and-hour enforcement actions.
What Counts as Hours Worked Time actively performing work duties. Short rest breaks under 20 minutes (always compensable). Pre-shift activities that are integral and indispensable to the principal work (putting on required protective gear, booting up systems). Travel between job sites during the workday. Mandatory training and meetings. On-call time when the employee's activities are meaningfully restricted. Waiting time when the employee is engaged to wait rather than waiting to be engaged.
What Doesn't Count as Hours Worked Bona fide meal periods of 30 minutes or more when the employee is completely relieved of duty. Home-to-work commute in an employer vehicle (in most cases). Off-duty time. Voluntary training outside regular hours that is not related to the job. Preliminary and postliminary activities that aren't integral to the principal work (under the Portal-to-Portal Act).
Where Hours Worked Errors Happen in Practice Off-the-clock work is the most common error: employees who check email, take calls, or respond to messages outside scheduled hours without recording time. Unauthorized overtime (work performed even when not approved) still counts and must be paid. Rounding practices that systematically favor the employer violate FLSA. Automatic meal-period deductions that don't account for interrupted meals are a recurring DOL enforcement target.
Running Hours Worked Compliance Across a Modern Workforce Clean hours-worked compliance combines accurate timekeeping systems, clear written policies, manager training on off-the-clock work, and audit processes that catch rounding or automatic deduction problems. Home-based workers create special challenges because the line between personal and work time blurs. See home-based worker and payroll for related issues. For overtime calculation, the hours-worked figure feeds directly into the regular rate math. DOL reference: dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/22-flsa-hours-worked .
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