(a) Generally.

1. (1) Whether waiting time is time worked under the Minimum Wage Act of the State of Arkansas, Arkansas Code § 11-4-201 et seq., depends upon particular circumstances.

2. (2) The determination involves:

   1. (A) A scrutiny and construction of the agreements between particular parties;
   2. (B) Appraisal of their practical construction of the working agreement by conduct;
   3. (C) Consideration of the nature of the service and its relation to the waiting time; and
   4. (D) All of the circumstances.

3. (3) Facts may show that:

   1. (A) The employee was engaged to wait; or
   2. (B) He or she waited to be engaged.

(b) On duty.

1. (1) 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 his or her fellow employees while waiting for machinery to be repaired are all working during their periods of inactivity.
2. (2) The rule also applies to employees who work away from the plant.

3. (3)

   1. (A) For example, a repair person is working while he or she waits for his or her employer's customer to get the premises in readiness.
   2. (B) The time is work time even though the employee is allowed to leave the premises or the job site during such periods of inactivity.
   3. (C) The periods during which these occur are unpredictable.
   4. (D) They are usually of short duration.
   5. (E) In either event, the employee is unable to use the time effectively for his or her own purposes.
   6. (F) It belongs to and is controlled by the employer.
4. (4) In all of these cases, waiting is an integral part of the job.
5. (5) The employee is engaged to wait.

(c) Off duty.

1. (1) Periods during which an employee is completely relieved from duty and which are long enough to enable him or her to use the time effectively for his or her own purposes are not hours worked.

2. (2) He or she is not completely relieved from duty and cannot use the time effectively for his or her own purposes unless he or she is definitely told in advance that he or she:

   1. (A) May leave the job; and
   2. (B) Will not have to commence work until a definitely specified hour has arrived.
3. (3) Whether the time is long enough to enable him or her to use the time effectively for his or her own purposes depends upon all of the facts and circumstances of the case.

(d) On-call time.

1. (1) An employee who is required to remain on call on the employer's premises, or so close thereto that he or she cannot use the time effectively for his or her own purposes, is working while on call.
2. (2) An employee who is not required to remain on the employer's premises but is merely required to leave word at his or her home or with company officials where he or she may be reached is not working while on call.