It is never legal for an employer to make a non-exempt employee work off the clock, even if they are salaried, and even if the employer doesn’t explicitly order them to. Employers are even prohibited from allowing employees to clock in for necessary before- or after-shift work, or simply assigning more tasks than is possible to complete in your compensated hours. If you can show that you performed any uncompensated work for an employer that stood idly by while they knew or should have known you were performing the work, you can successfully sue for back pay. Violations include requiring employees to work through their breaks or to do necessary paperwork or sidework outside of their shifts.