“Just answer a few emails tonight.” “Log in a little early.” “Finish that report after you clock out.” In Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Asheville—and across North Carolina—these requests show up every day. The legal question is straightforward: when does off-the-clock time become compensable “hours worked” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)?
Below is a practical roadmap you can use to spot the most common pay issues quickly.
The controlling rules (start here)
1) The FLSA requires pay for all “hours worked” the employer allows
The FLSA defines “employ” broadly. The core concept is that if an employer allows work to happen—even indirectly—time spent working is generally compensable.
2) Overtime is due for non-exempt employees over 40 hours in a workweek
For covered, non-exempt employees, overtime is generally required when total hours worked exceed 40 in a single workweek.
3) Time records matter—and employers carry the burden to keep them
Employers are expected to maintain accurate time and pay records. In many disputes, missing or unreliable time records become a major issue, especially when the employee can show a consistent pattern of off-the-clock work.
“Off-the-clock” in plain English: what usually counts as compensable time
Off-the-clock work is often compensable when the employer benefits from it and knows (or has reason to know) it is happening. A common misconception is that work is “free” if it was not pre-approved. That is not how wage-and-hour law generally works: if the employer allows the work and benefits from it, the time frequently must be paid.
A. Work the employer knows about is usually compensable—even if “unauthorized”
An employer can discipline an employee for breaking a rule (such as working without approval), but the employer generally cannot refuse to pay for work it allowed to be performed.
Common examples
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After-hours emails, texts, or messages that require reading and responding
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Logging in early to boot systems, open programs, or check assignments
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Finishing paperwork after clocking out
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“Quick” calls from a supervisor after hours
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Wrapping up tasks at home to meet deadlines
B. Remote work and telework: the same rules apply
Working from home does not change the basic analysis. If a non-exempt employee is performing work and the employer knows (or should know), that time is commonly compensable. Employers often try to manage this with written policies and reporting procedures—but policies do not eliminate the duty to pay for time actually worked.
C. The “continuous workday” concept can expand compensable time
In many situations, once an employee begins their first principal work activity of the day, time until the last principal work activity can be treated as part of the workday—subject to exceptions such as bona fide meal periods.
What often does not count: commuting, certain travel, and some preliminary or postliminary tasks
Not every minute connected to work is compensable. Federal law excludes certain categories of time, especially ordinary commuting and some activities that occur before the employee starts the principal job duties or after those duties are complete.
A. Ordinary commuting is usually not compensable
Time spent traveling from home to the normal worksite (and back) is typically not paid time.
B. Pre-shift and post-shift tasks depend on whether they are integral to the job
A key question is whether the activity is integral and indispensable to the employee’s principal work. If the activity is intrinsic to performing the job safely and effectively, it is more likely to be compensable. If it is more about convenience, general readiness, or loss prevention, it may be treated as non-compensable in many cases.
Breaks, meal periods, and “I ate at my desk”
Break and meal time are frequent sources of disputes.
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Short rest breaks are often treated as paid time.
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Meal periods may be unpaid only if the employee is genuinely relieved of duty. If an employee is expected to work through lunch—answering calls, monitoring systems, responding to messages, handling customers, or staying “on call” in a meaningful way—then the meal period may become compensable.
The “de minimis” argument: small time can still be time
Employers sometimes argue that small increments of time are too trivial to track. In practice, this argument is risky when the “small” time happens regularly. Five to ten minutes a day, repeated over weeks or months, can become a meaningful amount of unpaid wages and overtime.
North Carolina overlay: state law still matters
Even when the FLSA is the main driver, North Carolina wage-and-hour rules often come into play as well. In many cases, the practical analysis overlaps: whether work was performed, whether the employer knew or should have known, and whether the time should have been captured and paid.
Quick checklist: common off-the-clock red flags
If you see these patterns, a wage-and-hour review is usually warranted:
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Being told to clock out but keep working
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After-hours communications that require prompt responses
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Regular pre-shift setup (booting systems, staging materials, preparing workspaces)
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Automatic meal deductions even when lunches are interrupted
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Remote work where the employer benefits from the output but claims it “didn’t know”
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Time records that do not match objective data (system logs, call logs, tickets, schedules)
Practical steps for employees
If you believe you are working off the clock:
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Follow any established procedure to report time worked, including unscheduled time.
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Keep a contemporaneous personal log: date, start/stop times, and what you did.
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Preserve work-related communications that show requests or expectations to work.
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Raise the issue professionally and in writing where appropriate.
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Seek legal advice early if the amounts are significant, the practice is ongoing, or you are being pressured to work unpaid time.
Bottom line
Off-the-clock work is often compensable when it is work the employer allows, benefits from, and knows (or should know) is being performed—regardless of whether the time was “authorized.” The hard cases tend to involve preliminary/postliminary tasks, meal periods, remote work tracking, and what counts as truly integral to the job.
If you are seeing these issues in Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Asheville, or anywhere in North Carolina, the best next step is a fact-specific review of classification (exempt vs non-exempt), actual duties and time patterns, employer knowledge, and available records.