My boss recently informed us that ALL employees MUST attend an overnight (Friday afternoon - Saturday afternoon) "teambuilding" meeting offsite. All of us that are required to attend are HOURLY employees. From what we have been told they are NOT paying us for this meeting.

If in fact this is a manditory meeting how much time are they required to pay us for since this is an overnight deal? They say that in addition to the teambuilding activities we will also be having fun stuff like fishing, hiking, etc. But if I am required to be there I don't consider it fun and believe we should be paid for every hour away from home, is this correct or do they only have to pay us for the times we are doing "work related activities" even tho we are required to be there the whole time?

Thank you.

I hate those things. They're counterproductive, in my opinion. I don't like to hike and fish. :rolleyes:

OK, off soapbox now. :p

According to the FLSA, here is the criteria that must exist for meetings, seminars, etc. to NOT be compensable (it's the mandatory part that makes this compensable):
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.27.htm

Also, note here regarding "mandatory":
http://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ESA/Title_29/Part_785/29CFR785.28.htm

Sounds like compensable time to me.

Thanks for the quick reply. It does indeed sound like compensatable time.

How much though? Since it is an overnight activity that we are apparently not allowed to leave and come back for are we required to get paid for every hour we are there including the time we are sleeping there and "fishing" and "hiking"?

Thanks again.

If *I* had to hike and fish, *I'd* want to be paid for it. :p

Seriously, that question would better be answered by the federal DOL. You can call (866)4-USADOL and ask to speak to an investigator about this specific situation.