employment
Can a call center employee be forced to monitor a technical problem off the clock?
<p>I work from home for a virtual call center. I provide my own equipment but am required to use their software to connect to them, which often has problems. When these arise, and they cannot be resolved within 30 minutes by their software vendor, I am required to clock out.</p>

<p>This happened to me 3 hours ago, and I am now in legal limbo. The software vendor told me to await a return call, not as yet received. I'm essentially on call now, or am I? I won't be paid for this time, so how long must I wait before I can no longer be expected to clock back in today?</p>

<p>As an employee you are required to follow the “lawful and reasonable” instructions of your employer. Asking you to wait is lawful. Asking you to wait indefinitely is not reasonable. How long a period must be before it becomes unreasonable depends on the circumstances.</p>
