The Intersection of Smartphone Technology and Fair Labor Standards

Abstract

This chapter explores the intersection of two important factors: 1) the increasing use of smartphones and other technology to reach employees outside of working hours, and 2) regulation by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) designed in part to protect covered workers from employer abuses of working time. After chronicling the rise of fair labor standards and the evolution of boundaries between work and personal time, the chapter reviews leading cases related to the use of portable technology like smartphones and the compensation of off-shift working time. The chapter then proposes a reform to the FLSA to alleviate misuses of off-shift time and offers strategies for employers to minimize administrative costs.