De Minimis Defense Closes Shop On Starbucks Barista’s Off-The-Clock Claim In The Central District Of California

On March 7, 2014, Judge Feess of the Central District of California granted Defendant Starbucks' motion for summary judgment on Plaintiff's proposed class claims for unpaid wages under the California Labor Code. Plaintiff alleged that Starbucks failed to pay him for the brief time he spent closing the store after he clocked out at the end of every closing shift. His alleged off-the-clock closing duties included closing out of the store's computer system, activating the alarm, walking out of store, locking the door, walking employees to their cars and staying with co-workers when they waited for rides. He also occasionally moved the store's patio furniture inside and reopened the store for an employee who forgot personal belonging in the store.

Starbucks moved for summary judgment on the ground that Plaintiff's alleged off-the-clock closing tasks were de minimis. Plaintiff argued that the de minimis doctrine was not a defense to wage claims under the California Labor Code. Citing case law and the DLSE Enforcement Manual, the Court held that the de minimis defense applied to California wage claims. Under the de minimis doctrine, alleged working time need not be paid if it is trivially small (typically up to 10 minutes). When applying the de minimis doctrine, the 9th Circuit directs courts to consider: (1) the practical administrative difficulty of recording the additional time; (2) the aggregate amount of compensable time; and (3) the regularity of the additional work. See Lindow v. United States, 738 F.2d 1057, 1063 (9th Cir. 1984).

On the undisputed facts, the Court determined that the first two factors of the Lindow test were met. Plaintiff generally spent less than...