A Reminder Of California's Evolving Wage-And-Hour Landscape For Employers

• Published date: 27 September 2023
• Law Firm: Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP
• Author: Ms Diana M. Estrada

California stands out for its employee-friendly labor laws aimed at safeguarding employee rights. One critical aspect of these laws is prohibiting off-the-clock work, which even for a couple of minutes can result in (1) claims of failure to pay regular and overtime wages and (2) accompanying statutory and civil penalties. Avoiding employee claims of off-the-clock work is one crucial step California employers can take to avoid costly wage-and-hour lawsuits similar to a recent case that cost one company a $72.5 million settlement.

In response to a question from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and following the court's 2018 decision in Troester v. Starbucks (2018) 5 Cal. 5th 829, the California Supreme Court found that the California Labor Code and wage order provisions provide that employees must be paid for all time worked. Specifically, the Court stated that "an employer that requires its employees to work minutes off the clock on a regular basis or as a regular feature of the job may not evade the obligation to compensate the employee for that time by invoking the de minimis doctrine. A few extra minutes of work each day can add up."

Several Practices May Result in Off-the-Clock Work Claims

For example, an employer may delay employee departures after they clock out for the day to conduct a security check, or...