Working Hours: US

This Working Hours policy helps your organization set clear expectations for when employees are expected to start and finish work, while supporting compliance with federal wage and hour rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and related U.S. Department of Labor guidance.

The History Behind Working Hours Policies in the US

Working hours rules grew into a core part of Wages & Hours compliance when industrial employers started running long, irregular shifts and workers had little leverage to push back. Congress responded with the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), which set a federal minimum wage, required overtime pay for covered non-exempt employees after 40 hours in a workweek, and restricted child labor.

Courts and the U.S. Department of Labor then spent decades fighting about what time counts as work time. The Supreme Court's 1946 decision in Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co. allowed employees to recover for unpaid work and accepted reasonable estimates when employers failed to keep accurate records, which pushed employers to take schedules and timekeeping more seriously. Congress narrowed some of that exposure in the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947, but it kept the basic idea that employers must pay for principal activities and must keep reliable records of hours worked. Those record-keeping duties still loom large when it comes to working-hours expectations.

Modern working-hours policies also reflect how work now happens outside of a job-site. Remote work, smartphones, and on-call coverage make "off the clock" a gray area, and wage claims follow when employees answer messages, log in, or handle quick tasks outside scheduled hours. Many states tack on daily overtime rules, meal and rest break requirements, predictive scheduling laws, and reporting time pay, which can make a schedule change expensive even when it's necessary for business.

A clear working-hours policy is a practical way to connect scheduling decisions to timekeeping, overtime control, and notice expectations without turning every shift change into a compliance surprise.

Which Law is this Working Hours Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Working Hours Policy for your US-based employees, it needs to comply with the US Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) and any state or local laws.

How to Write a US-Specific Working Hours Policy

• Start with "why" and say that set working hours help your organization run smoothly.
• Explain that employees are expected to start and end work according to their assigned schedule.
• State your typical business hours as a baseline and note that actual hours can vary by role or team.
• Describe how regular working hours are communicated and how schedule changes will be shared.
• Commit to providing advance notice when schedules are adjusted.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

You can comply without putting this in your handbook or otherwise publishing it to employees, but including it usually pays off. A short policy helps employees find answers without a ticket to HR, and it helps supervisors handle situations the same way across teams. If you're intentionally keeping your handbook lean, this can live in another easy-to-find policy hub, but make sure employees can actually access it and managers know where to point people. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to US employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.