Are employee meetings and training sessions considered hours worked?

Time spent by employees attending training programs, lectures and meetings is not counted as hours worked if all the following criteria are met:

• Attendance is voluntary;
• No productive work is performed while attending;
• Attendance is outside of regular working hours; and
• The training is not directly related to the employee's regular job.

Pay for training time may be at a lower rate than for other work, but not less than the minimum wage. Overtime is payable if hours worked exceed those permitted under the