r/science • u/eastbayted • 2d ago

Health Sick food service workers remain top driver of viral foodborne outbreaks in US

https://www.healio.com/news/gastroenterology/20250331/sick-food-service-workers-remain-top-driver-of-viral-foodborne-outbreaks-in-us
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u/FriendlyDespot 2d ago edited 2d ago

The FLSA standard isn't limited to whether or not you're on work premises, it has to do with how free you are to use your time. The differentiation is whether you're waiting to be engaged, or engaged to wait.

If you're free to do regular everyday activities then you're waiting to be engaged. The classic example is going to watch a movie, and a reasonable period of time before reporting for work sits at around 3-4 hours from the time you're called. If you're not free to do regular everyday activities and are expected to report for work in less than 3-4 hours then you're engaged to wait.

If you're engaged to wait as an FLSA-covered employee then that time is legally considered time worked and should be compensated as such.

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u/travinsky 1d ago

It may not be common in the food service industry but I work in the elevator industry and all service techs are on an on call schedule worked out in advance. And they aren’t allowed 3-4 hours to leave their house. They also have company trucks and get paid the minute they leave their house so it’s not exactly the same.