DWD 272.12(2)(a)1.1. General. Work not requested but suffered or permitted is work time. For example, an employee may voluntarily continue to work at the end of the shift. They may be a pieceworker, they may desire to finish an assigned task or they may wish to correct errors, past work tickets, prepare time reports or other records. The reason is immaterial. The employer knows or has reason to believe that they are continuing to work and the time is working time. DWD 272.12(2)(a)2.2. Work performed away from the premises or job site. The rule is also applicable to work performed away from the premises or the job site, or even at home. If the employer knows or has reason to believe that the work is being performed, they must count the time as hours worked. DWD 272.12(2)(a)3.3. Duty of management. In all such cases it is the duty of the management to exercise its control and see that the work is not performed if it does not want it to be performed. It cannot sit back and accept the benefits without compensating for them. The mere promulgation of a rule against such work is not enough. Management has the power to enforce the rule and must make every effort to do so. DWD 272.12(2)(b)1.1. General. Whether waiting time is time worked depends upon particular circumstances. The determination involves “scrutiny and construction of the agreements between particular parties, appraisal of their practical construction of the working agreement by conduct, consideration of the nature of the service, and its relation to the waiting time, and all of the circumstances. Facts may show that the employee was engaged to wait, or they may show that he/she waited to be engaged.” DWD 272.12(2)(b)2.2. On duty. A stenographer who reads a book while waiting for dictation, a messenger who works a crossword puzzle while awaiting assignments, a firefighter who plays checkers while waiting for alarms and a factory worker who talks to fellow employees while waiting for machinery to be repaired are all working during their periods of inactivity. The rule also applies to employees who work away from the plant. For example, a repairperson is working while they wait for their employer’s customer to get the premises in readiness. The time is work time even though the employee is allowed to leave the premises or the job site during such periods of inactivity. The periods during which these occur are unpredictable. They are usually of short duration. In either event the employee is unable to use the time effectively for their own purposes. It belongs to and is controlled by the employer. In all of these cases waiting is an integral part of the job. The employee is engaged to wait. DWD 272.12(2)(b)3.3. Off duty. Periods during which an employee is completely relieved from duty and which are long enough to enable them to use the time effectively for their own purposes are not hours worked. They are not completely relieved from duty and cannot use the time effectively for their own purposes unless they are definitely told in advance that they may leave the job and that they will not have to commence work until a definitely specified hour has arrived. DWD 272.12(2)(b)4.4. On-call time. An employee who is required to remain on call on the employer’s premises or so close thereto that they cannot use the time effectively for their own purposes is working while “on call.” An employee who is not required to remain on the employer’s premises but is merely required to leave word at their home or with company officials where they may be reached is not working while on call. DWD 272.12(2)(c)1.1. Rest. Rest periods of short duration, running less than 30 minutes are common in industry. They promote the efficiency of the employee and are customarily paid for as working time. They must be counted as hours worked. Compensable time of rest periods may not be offset against other working time such as compensable waiting time or on-call time. DWD 272.12(2)(c)2.2. Meal. Bona fide meal periods of 30 minutes or more are not work time. Bona fide meal periods do not include coffee breaks or time for snacks. These are rest periods. The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals. Ordinarily 30 minutes or more is long enough for a bona fide meal period. The employee is not relieved if they are required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, while eating. For example, an office employee who is required to eat at their desk or a factory worker who is required to be at their machine is working while eating. DWD 272.12(2)(d)(d) Sleeping time and certain other activities. Under certain conditions an employee is considered to be working even though some of their time is spent in sleeping or in certain other activities. DWD 272.12(2)(d)1.b.b. “Home care premises” means premises or locations, including group homes, in which the employer is acting either directly or indirectly as an agent to provide home care services for an elderly person, a person with a disability, a person otherwise in need of care and assistance in the home, or for the family of such a person. DWD 272.12(2)(d)1.c.c. “Homelike environment” means facilities, including private quarters as defined in par. (f), and also including facilities for cooking and eating on the same premises; for bathing in private; and for recreation, such as television. The amenities and quarters shall be suitable for long-term residence by individuals and shall be similar to those found in typical private residence or apartment, rather than those found in institutional facilities such as dormitories, barracks, and short-term facilities for travelers. DWD 272.12(2)(d)1.d.d. “Off-duty” means the time period during which the employee is completely relieved from duty and is free to leave the home care premises or otherwise use the time for his or her benefit. DWD 272.12(2)(d)1.e.e. “On-duty” means the period of time the employee is required to be on the home care premises or otherwise working for the employer. DWD 272.12(2)(d)1.f.f. “Private quarters” means living quarters that are furnished, are separate from the clients and from any other staff members, have as a minimum the same furnishings available to clients, such as bed, table, chair, lamp, dresser, closet, and in which the employee is able to leave his or her belongings during on-duty and off-duty periods. DWD 272.12(2)(d)2.a.a. An employee who is required to be on duty for less than 24 hours is working even though they are permitted to sleep or engage in other personal activities when not busy. A telephone operator, for example, who is required to be on duty for specified hours is working even though they are permitted to sleep when not busy answering calls. It makes no difference that they are furnished facilities for sleeping. Their time is given to their employer. They are required to be on duty and the time is work time. DWD 272.12(2)(d)3.a.a. Where an employee is required to be on duty for 24 consecutive hours or more, the employer and the employee pursuant to a mutual written agreement may agree to exclude bona fide meal periods and a bona fide regularly scheduled sleeping period of not more than 8 hours from hours worked per 24-hour period, provided adequate sleeping facilities are furnished by the employer and the employee can usually enjoy an uninterrupted night’s sleep. If the sleeping period is more than 8 hours, only 8 hours shall be credited per 24-hour period. Where no written agreement to the contrary is present, the 8 hours of sleeping time and lunch periods constitute hours worked. If the sleeping period is interrupted by a call to duty, the interruption shall be counted as hours worked. Employers may take credit for board and lodging as prescribed by s. DWD 272.03 (3) or (4), whichever is applicable. Record keeping requirements provided in s. DWD 272.11 shall apply. DWD 272.12(2)(d)3.b.b. If the sleeping period is interrupted by a call to duty, the interruption must be counted as hours worked. If the period is interrupted to such an extent that the employee cannot get a reasonable night’s sleep, the entire period must be counted. DWD 272.12(2)(d)4.4. Employees residing on employer’s premises, home care premises or working at home. An employee who resides on his or her employer’s premises or home care premises on a permanent basis or for extended periods of time is not considered as working all the time he or she is on the premises. Ordinarily, the employees may engage in normal private pursuits and thus have enough time for eating, sleeping, entertaining, and other periods of complete freedom from all duties when he or she may leave the premises for purposes of his or her own. It is of course difficult to determine the exact hours worked under these circumstances and any reasonable written agreement of the parties which takes into consideration all of the pertinent facts shall be accepted. DWD 272.12(2)(d)5.a.a. When an employee who provides home care services does not maintain his or her permanent residence on the home care premises and does not otherwise reside on the premises 7 days a week, the department shall consider an employee who sleeps in private quarters, in a homelike environment, to reside on the premises for an extended period of time within the meaning of par. (d) 4, if the employee resides on the premises for a period of at least 120 hours in a workweek.