• In some cases, employers must pay you for waiting by the phone.telephone image by MATTHIEU FABISIAK from Fotolia.com
  
  Tennessee labor laws do not address the issue of hours spent on-call directly, but rely on the Fair Labor Standards Act to regulate on-call time. FLSA states that employees must be compensated for all hours worked, including "work performed at home, travel time, waiting time, training, and probationary periods." There are some cases, however, when on-call time is not considered to fall under any of these categories.
  
  

Pay is Not Mandatory

• You may be placed on-call without pay, as long as you are able to continue your everyday routine. FLSA does not consider going out of town, using drugs or alcohol, or other activities which would make completing your job duties impossible a part of a regular routine. In some cases, an employer will choose to pay you for this time worked. This pay rate, however, is not required to meet federal minimum wage laws, and is often $2 to $5 per hour.
  
  

Pay is Mandatory

• If you are required to remain at one specific location, must be within a certain radius of one location, or must be able to reach that location within a matter of minutes, FLSA requires that you be paid for the time spent on-call. These requirements are considered interfering with your right to "use the time effectively for (your) own purposes," and in most cases you are entitled to be paid if you must adhere to them.
  
  

When You Get Called

• Anytime you are called in to work, you should be paid. It is against FLSA regulations to mandatorily perform your job functions while off the clock. If hours worked during an on-call assignment force a full-time, non-exempt employee to work more than 40 working hours per week, overtime must be paid for the hours exceeding 40.