Lance:
Per Washington state law, an employer is not required to pay on-call unless there is an actual call-out, providing that they are not restricting your activities in any other way.
If you are required to have your cell phone with you but otherwise have no restrictions on your movements or activities then they dont have to pay you for the time. In a nutshell, the more control that your employer has over you during a certain time period, the more likely it is that they will need to pay you for it.
More info here:
http://www.lni.wa.gov/WorkplaceRights/Wages/PayReq/Wages/default.asp
In Reply to Lance Nelsen:
Folks, we recently had our On-Call pay terminated even though we still need to be ready for a call-out and were told that this is the industry standard.
We will still get paid for a Call-Out, but not for being On-Call
I for one am not buying into this statement of “Industry Standard” and wanted to know if anybody else’s On-Call pay got cut or if you ever received an hourly stipend just for being on call?
Thanks,
Lance Nelsen
IST-Telecom Systems Analyst
360-788-6366 ph
360-788-6705 fax
2901 Squalicum Pkwy. Bellingham, WA. 98225
www.peacehealth.org