Under certain conditions an employee is considered to be working even though some of his time is spent in sleeping. An employee who is required to be on duty for less than 24 hours is working even though he is permitted to sleep or engage in other personal activities when not busy. If the sleeping period is interrupted by a call to duty, the interruption must be counted as hours worked.
Example:
A telephone operator who is required
to be on duty is working even though she is permitted to sleep when not busy
answering calls.
Where an employee is required to be on duty for 24 hours or more, the employer
and the employee may agree to exclude meal periods and regularly scheduled
sleeping period of not more than 8 hours from hours worked, provided adequate
sleeping facilities are furnished by the employer and the employee can usually
enjoy an uninterrupted night’s sleep. If there is no agreement, the 8 hours of
sleeping time and lunch periods constitute hours worked.