MEAL TIME Under What Circumstances Are On-Duty Meal Periods Compensable? In cases in which officers have been confined to a particular location and been on-call, the employer has been found to be liable for overtime pay for the officer?s meal time. In other cases, in which officers have been free to eat wherever they wish so long as they maintain radio contact with their employer, and they are only rarely interrupted with radio calls, the courts have ruled in favor of the employer. ****SO DOES THIS