It depends on the situation. Generally, voluntary training that takes place outside of usual working hours isn't considered working hours, whereas required work training or training that occurs during usual working hours are considered to be payable working hours.
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets [regulations regarding which training hours must be considered working hours.
The first deciding factor is if the training occurs during an employee's regular work hours.
The training is most likely considered work hours and must be paid, unless all of the following criteria are met:
The training isn't considered hours worked, provided that the training is voluntary. Training isn't voluntary if:
Time employees spend training for their positions is considered working time, and must be paid by employers. Exceptions include optional trainings that take place outside of normal working hours or aren't directly related to an employee's position.
This article may contain hyperlinks to websites operated by parties other than TriNet. Such hyperlinks are provided for reference only. TriNet does not control such web sites and is not responsible for their content. Inclusion of such hyperlinks on TriNet.com does not necessarily imply any endorsement of the material on such websites or association with their operators.