This afternoon, I’m speaking at Workforce HR’s Techweek Conference on “Going Mobile”.  It’s not too late to join us here as it is an online conference.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s FREE.  There, got your attention.

One of the topics that I’ll be talking on is the legal risks involved with “going mobile” for employers.  I’ve tackled the subject in several posts throughout the years but the one that keeps popping up time and again is the wage & hour issue.

A piece I quoted in 2009 remains applicable today (except that smartphones have replaced “PDA” as the preferred word of choice):

After-hours PDA use increases an employer’s exposure for overtime and record-keeping liabilities, as well as the possibility that nonexempt employees will not be properly compensated for all time actually worked in violation of the FLSA and state wage laws. The practices and policies that many employers currently have in place for after hours work may no longer “fit” today’s PDA environment.

Employers must reexamine their current policies and procedures and revise them to reflect PDA usage. They must also reexamine their employees’ exempt versus nonexempt status. Once appropriate policies governing PDA usage are in place, they must be adequately communicated to employees and then enforced. Policy violators should be subjected to appropriate discipline. Following these steps should limit the risks PDAs pose to employers under the sate and federal wage laws.

No doubt that many employers are still oblivious to this and require non-exempt employees to “check e-mail” while at home without compensation.

What else might be risky for employers? Listen in and hear from several HR experts as well.