Generally, yes. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must pay new hires for time spent in meetings, training, lectures, and other similar activities. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, "Orientation can be considered a lecture, meeting, and training program."
Employers do not have to pay for time spent in meetings, training, lectures, and other similar activities if
• the attendance is voluntary;
• the attendance is outside the employee's regular working hours;
• the event is not directly tied to the employee's job; or
• the employee does not perform any productive work during the event.
Time spent in orientation is compensable because generally the event is mandatory, conducted during normal working hours, linked to the attendee's employment, and requires some work to be performed — such as filling out new-hire paperwork.