The shift to remote and hybrid work arrangements has fundamentally changed how employers manage (and potentially mismanage) wage-and-hour compliance. While flexible work models offer significant benefits, they also present unique challenges under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and analogous state laws.

Wage-and-hour claims remain one of the most frequently litigated employment issues, and remote work has created new avenues for liability, particularly with respect to timekeeping, overtime, and off-the-clock work.

Below are some key compliance risks that employers should be addressing now, along with practical strategies to mitigate exposure.

Tracking Hours Worked

Non-exempt employees must be paid for all hours worked, including time that may be difficult to capture in a remote setting. Even small increments of unrecorded time can lead to significant liability when aggregated across a workforce. Without direct supervision, employees may:

• Work outside scheduled hours
• Respond to emails after hours
• Perform “quick tasks” that go unrecorded
• Monitor Slack, Teams, or other communication platforms during off-hours
• Log in briefly on weekends to address “urgent” issues
• Update files, enter data, or complete administrative tasks informally
• Work through meal periods without recording missed or interrupted breaks

Employers may be liable for unpaid time if they “knew or should have known” an employee was performing work — even if the employer had not requested the work, and even...

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