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Last updated on: May 23rd, 2022
Hours & Pay Regulations
Normal Working Hours
The Fair Labor Standards Act defines the workweek as a fixed and recurring period of 168 hours comprised of seven consecutive 24-hour periods that do not need to coincide with the calendar week. It is adjustable only if the change is designed to be permanent. Each week is considered on its own for purposes of calculating overtime. The hours of two or more weeks may not be averaged.
Time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered compensable work time. Time spent in home-to-work travel by an employee in an employer-provided vehicle, or in activities performed by an employee that are incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting, generally is not “hours worked” and, therefore, does not have to be paid.
Overtime
Alabama has no general provision governing overtime pay, but most employees would be subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires that all nonexempt employees be paid at a rate of one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a week.
Breaks
Bona-fide meal periods (typically lasting at least 30 minutes) serve a different purpose than coffee or snack breaks and, thus, are not work time and are not compensable. No person 14 or 15 years of age shall be employed for more than five hours continuously without a documented interval of at least 30 minutes for a meal or rest period. Any meal or rest period of fewer than 30 minutes shall not be considered to interrupt a continuous period of work.
Annual Leave
Annual Leaves are unpaid leave based on the agreement between employer and employee (FSLA). The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations or holidays (federal or otherwise). These benefits are generally a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee’s representative).
Special Leave
Funeral Leave is based on an agreement between employer and employee.
Employers must provide employees summoned for jury duty with paid time off in order to serve as jurors. Employees are required to provide their employers with their jury summons the next working day after the employees receive them. An employer may not require an employee to use annual, vacation, unpaid leave, or sick leave for time spent serving as a juror. The employer may be able to deduct wages the employee received for serving as a juror from the employee’s compensation. An employer may not discharge or subject an employee to any adverse employment action due to serving as a juror, provided the employee returns to work following dismissal from jury duty.
Employees who are registered to vote must be permitted to take the necessary time off from work, up to one hour, to vote in any municipal, county, state or federal primary or general election. Employees must provide reasonable notice to their employers if they require time off to vote. The employer may specify the hours of leave. However, if an employee’s work schedule begins at least two hours after the polls open, or ends at least one hour prior to the polls closing, the employee is not eligible for voting leave.
