Lost Time Payment (Time Spent)

A lost time payment, sometimes called time spent compensation, is a settlement benefit that may reimburse eligible class members for reasonable time spent completing tasks covered by the settlement terms.

This benefit appears in some settlements, especially matters involving data breaches or identity theft. Covered tasks may include changing passwords, contacting financial institutions, placing a fraud alert or credit freeze, reviewing account activity, or addressing documented misuse of personal information. The settlement agreement, notice, and claim form decide which activities count.

A lost time payment is not available in every settlement. It also does not mean the defendant admitted wrongdoing or that every affected person automatically receives money. A claimant usually must request the benefit and provide the information required by the official form.

The calculation method varies. A settlement may set an hourly rate, a maximum number of compensable hours, different documentation levels, or a total cap shared with other benefits. The Federal Trade Commission’s Equifax settlement guidance described one example that offered $25 per hour for certain time spent dealing with the breach. Claims for up to 10 hours required a description of the work, while claims above that level required additional supporting documentation. Those terms applied to that settlement and are not a universal formula.

Receipts may not be necessary for personal time, but that does not always make the claim documentation-free. A form may ask for dates, hours, a description of each task, or records showing identity theft, fraud, or another covered event. Claimants should estimate time honestly and avoid including unrelated activity or the same hours under more than one benefit category.

Lost time is also not automatically the same as lost wages. Lost wages generally concern income missed because a person could not work and may require employment or payroll records. Time spent compensation usually values personal time used for settlement-related tasks, but the official documents may define or combine these categories differently.

Even when a claim is approved, the requested amount may be reduced by documentation rules, individual caps, a pro rata adjustment, or other terms in the plan of allocation. Review the official claim form before assuming a task, hourly rate, or number of hours qualifies.