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Last updated on: May 28th, 2024
Hours & Pay Regulations
Normal Working Hours
A normal standard working week shall not exceed 40 hours per week.
Alabama does not have minimum wage or overtime laws and, thus, has not adopted a definition of hours worked for purposes of compensation calculations. As most employers and employees in Alabama are subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, the standards for hours worked outlined in that law typically apply.
The Fair Labor Standards Act defines the workweek as a fixed and recurring period of 168 hours comprised of seven consecutive 24-hour periods that do not need to coincide with the calendar week. It is adjustable only if the change is designed to be permanent. Each week is considered on its own for purposes of calculating overtime. The hours of two or more weeks may not be averaged.
Time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered compensable work time. Time spent in home-to-work travel by an employee in an employer-provided vehicle, or in activities performed by an employee that are incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting, generally is not “hours worked” and, therefore, does not have to be paid.
Recording Requirement – An employer must record the following details for employees under 19 years of age in electronic or photostatic form, time records for the 60 days preceding the last day of the last work period:
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- number of hours worked;
- number of hours worked extra than the permitted hours;
- stating the ending time and start time;
- breaks
- copy of a birth certificate, a copy of a driver’s license, or an identification card issued by a federal, state, or local government agency provided the identification card contains the name and date of birth of the employee.
- documents containing the employee’s name, home address, telephone number, date of birth, date of hire, and school of attendance for each employee under 19 years of age.
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The records shall be maintained for 1 year after the last day of the work.
Overtime
Alabama has no general provision governing overtime pay, but most employees would be subject to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
Any work performed beyond 40 hours in a workweek is considered overtime work.
Pay– An employee is entitled to premium pay at the rate of 1.5 times their regular rate for all hours worked excess in a workweek.
Breaks
Employers are not legally required to provide breaks or meal periods to their employees under either the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or Alabama law. It’s common for employers to provide short breaks lasting from 5 to 20 minutes. According to the FLSA, employees must be compensated during short breaks, but employers aren’t obligated to pay for meal periods lasting 30 minutes or more, provided that employees are free to use this time as they wish and aren’t required to work during it.
Under the FLSA, an employee who takes a break that is 20 minutes or less must be paid for their break time at their normal rate. This includes meal, religious, health, and most likely restroom breaks as long as the break is under 20 minutes. An employer does not have to pay an employee for a break if:
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- the break is longer than 20 minutes; and
- the employee is relieved of all work during the break.
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No Penalty for Missing Break as per law
Annual Leave
Annual Leaves are unpaid leave based on the agreement between employer and employee (FSLA). The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacations or holidays (federal or otherwise). These benefits are generally a matter of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee’s representative).
Special Leave
Funeral Leave is based on an agreement between employer and employee.
Employees are entitled to paid leave to attend a judicial proceeding in response to a subpoena, a summons for jury duty, or any other court order.
Employers may not discharge, discipline or otherwise penalize (or threaten to penalize) an employee for taking leave to attend a judicial proceeding in response to a subpoena, a summons for jury duty, or any other court order.
This protection does not apply to employees who are charged with a crime. Employees are required to provide their employees reasonable notice of the absence or delay in reporting to work to attend the judicial proceeding.
Employees who are registered to vote must be permitted to take the necessary time off from work, up to one hour, to vote in any municipal, county, state, or federal primary or general election. Employees must provide reasonable notice to their employers if they require time off to vote. The employer may specify the hours of leave. However, if an employee’s work schedule begins at least two hours after the polls open, or ends at least one hour before the polls closing, the employee is not eligible for voting leave.
An employee in Alabama is entitled to paid military leave. In addition to the federal law USERRA, Alabama law provides military members with paid leave for days they are engaged in the field, coast defense or other training or service ordered under federal laws governing the U.S. Reserves. An employer is required to pay no more than 168 hours per calendar year to an employee called into active state service. Upon return from leave, the employee may not suffer loss of time, efficiency rating, annual leave, or sick leave.
