You can learn a lot from social media pages. For instance, if your employees have used any of these hashtags, you may have a wage and hour law problem.

#allworkandnolunchmakesjackadullboy

If Jack’s using this hashtag, he probably worked through his lunch break. This isn’t necessarily a legal problem if he got paid for all the time he worked. However, if Jack’s employer automatically deducts 30 minutes of work time for lunch each day, there’s an increased risk that Jack isn’t properly paid when he skips his lunch for work.

If he did take his meal break, but ran his personal errands instead of eating lunch, that break time is probably not compensable. Generally, Jack doesn’t have to be compensated for his lunch break if it is a “bona fide meal period” under the FLSA. This means that the employee is “completely relieved from duty” for the purpose of eating (usually for 30 or more minutes).

However, if according to Jack, #anappleadayisallihavetimefor, his lunch break may be getting interrupted by work, making it generally compensable under the FLSA.

#bestpartofwakingupisfolgersnotemailsfrommyboss

If your non-exempt employee gets emails from her supervisor before she arrives to work, she may be working “off the clock” in violation of wage and hour laws. Working “off the clock” means the employee’s doing work, but not getting paid for that time because she hasn’t yet clocked in (or she’s already clocked out) for the day.

This is a legal problem even if she’s specifically told to wait until she gets into the office to check her emails, etc. The FLSA regulations state that work not requested but “suffered or permitted” is compensable work time. Thus, if an employer knows or has reason to believe that an employee is working, then the time the employee spends doing that work is compensable.

The “virtual workplace” presents a number of opportunities for employees to work off the clock including by using their smart phones to check emails over breakfast, logging on from their home computers at night to finish up a report, and taking calls while in transit.

Employers must develop a system for tracking and recording this time as compensable work time. If the #earlybirdgetsthewormbutnotpaid, the early bird’s employer risks “off the clock” wage and hour litigation and liability.

#thisjobissoeasyamonkeycoulddoit

If the employee using this hashtag is non-exempt, there’s no need to be alarmed. If, on the other hand, he’s classified as an exempt administrative employee, there is cause for concern.

To qualify for the administrative exemption, the employee’s primary duty must be office or non-manual work which is directly related to the management or general business operations of the employer or the employer’s customers. Additionally, the employee’s primary duty must include the exercise of discretion and independent judgment as to matters of significance.

The employee here may not be able to meet this “duties test” if the reason a monkey could do the job is because it requires no thought or because the employer provides the employee with a detailed instructional manual for use in performing his job tasks.

Keep in mind that if an exempt employee asks #doihavetodoeverythingaroundhere, his employer should consider whether his “primary duty” is comprised of exempt tasks or non-exempt tasks. If it’s the latter, despite being (mis)classified as exempt, the employee is probably entitled to overtime for every hour worked over 40 in a workweek.

Employees don’t have to use hashtags on social media to raise #FLSA issues. Managers should be trained to pay close attention to what employees are doing and saying about compensation issues. By being proactive, employers can effectively identify and address wage and hour concerns before they result in costly litigation.

This blog should not be construed as legal advice, as pertaining to specific factual situations or as establishing an attorney-client relationship.