(a) General. Where an employee is required to be on duty for 24
hours or more, the employer and the employee may agree to exclude bona
fide meal periods and a bona fide 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 sleeping period is of more than
8 hours, only 8 hours will be credited. Where no expressed or implied
agreement to the contrary is present, the 8 hours of sleeping time and
lunch periods constitute hours worked. (Armour v. Wantock, 323 U.S. 126
(1944); Skidmore v. Swift, 323 U.S. 134 (1944); General Electric Co. v.
Porter, 208 F. 2d 805 (C.A. 9, 1953), cert. denied, 347 U.S. 951, 975
(1954); Bowers v. Remington Rand, 64 F. Supp. 620 (S.D. Ill, 1946),
aff'd 159 F. 2d 114 (C.A. 7, 1946) cert. denied 330 U.S. 843 (1947);
Bell v. Porter, 159 F. 2d 117 (C.A. 7, 1946) cert. denied 330 U.S. 813
(1947); Bridgeman v. Ford, Bacon & Davis, 161 F. 2d 962 (C.A. 8, 1947);
Rokey v. Day & Zimmerman, 157 F. 2d 736 (C.A. 8, 1946); McLaughlin v.
Todd & Brown, Inc., 7 W.H. Cases 1014; 15 Labor Cases para. 64,606 (N.D.
Ind. 1948); Campbell v. Jones & Laughlin, 70 F. Supp. 996 (W.D. Pa.
1947).)
(b) Interruptions of sleep. If the sleeping period is interrupted by
a call to duty, the interruption must be counted as hours worked. If the
period is interrupted to such an extent that the employee cannot get a
reasonable night's sleep, the entire period must be counted. For
enforcement purposes, the Divisons have adopted the rule that if the
employee cannot get at least 5 hours' sleep during the scheduled period
the entire time is working time.
(See Eustice v. Federal Cartridge Corp., 66 F. Supp. 55 (D. Minn.
1946).)
