As mobile technology has become more popular with consumers around the world, many businesses have followed suit and armed their employees with smartphones, tablets and laptops that enabled them to do work from anywhere. That way, traveling staff members could stay on top of proposal deadlines and stay connected with team members on the go.

Now, there are concerns that time spent checking work emails and contacting clients is  going unpaid. This might not be a problem if the people putting in the extra time and attendance are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), but it can potentially lead to unpaid overtime claims if employees are paid on an hourly basis. 

The Department of Labor (DOL) requires employers to pay non-exempt workers premium rates for any time spent performing job-related duties exceeding 40 hours in a single workweek. If those tasks include answering calls and emails, employers might be responsible for that additional employee attendance.

This is the claim one Chicago police officer is making, according to ABC News Radio. Sergeant Jeffrey Allen and 200 other members of the Chicago Police Department's Bureau of Organized Crime allege they are owed overtime wages for required use of department-provided BlackBerrys and have filed a lawsuit against the city to recover lost pay. 

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