Unpaid training hours - legal in CA?

Question

I am a preschool teacher in CA. My employer wants all the teachers to take CPR/first aid training. We did this 2 years ago, so I guess this is to renew it. Anyhow - this is an 8 hour course done on a saturday after completing a 40 hour work week, or over two evenings, 4 hours each, emidately after completing an 8 hour work day. Is this legal to require us to do this for free!? Shouldn't we not only be getting paid, but recieving overtime? And what about travel expenses if we have to drive further for this training? Does anyone know where I can find legal documention to prove my case? Thanks! I didn't question doing this for free last time (probably because I was a new hire), but I don't want to do it again!

Answer 1

well you would be paying the fire dept for the 8hr cpr certification.
plus you want to be cpr certified just in case one of you students needs it. one Saturday out of life it won't hurt.
good luck
chin

Answer 2

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law that sets minimum wage and overtime standards and it requires that any job-related training required by the employer must be paid for. In addition, the hours spent in such training must be counted towards overtime, unless the training meets ALL 4 of the following criteria:

(a) Attendance is outside of the employee's regular working hours;
(b) Attendance is in fact voluntary;
(c) The course, lecture, or meeting is not directly related to the
employee's job; and
(d) The employee does not perform any productive work during such attendance.

See Title 29, United States Code of Federal Regulations, Part 785.27.

If you need help convincing your employer that he/she needs to pay you for this time, contact the Wage and Hour Division at www.dol.gov, or 1-866-4US-WAGE. They have investigators there that enforce the federal labor standards.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

It is in fact legal to have a person train for CPR. Not only do you have to take the CPR course, but you would also need to pay it at your own expensive. I've seen the same situation happen in Kaiser Permanente. An Orthopedics staff was required to use his own time and at his own expensive re-take a CPR course. If he didn't, the company had the right to cease his work for a week if not more. Therefore I believe it is legal to have a person take CPR courses.

Answer 4

My understanding is:

If they require to take a SPECIFIC class for skills SPECIFIC to the job, they may be required to pay for your time.

On the other hand, if they just require that you have the certification and keep it current but do not specify how you accomplish it, it is your job to fulfill the requirement.

Think of it as if you HAD to drive for your job. Would your employer be required to pay you to do your license renewal? No.

Another point- it may not be your employer who 'wants' this training. In many places, it is a state requirement that teachers, etc. be certified. In this case, it is not a company requirement that they may or may not be required to reimburse for, but a state requirement- again more like the drivers license.

Locally, I teach a LOT of CPR classes, often filled with pre-school teachers and day care providers (who are required to take to for their job), and comparatively few of them are being reimbursed- not even for the cost of the class.

Answer 5

You may be under a union contract which outlines this procedure. My guess would be that the school pays for the class and you have to attend in order to maintain your licensure as an educator. I would say it is legal, but unusual for an employer not to pay for additional training.

Answer 6

Contact the Dept. of Labor and seek enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Answer 7

This will end up being an un-reembursed business expense which you can write off on taxes. Such as your milage, fees, even meal. I cant help with the not getting paid part.

Answer 8

If you're an employee (exempt) then you don't get paid. If you're not then you do. If you;re a contractor, you definitely should get paid.