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Wage Claims, Overtime & Other Employee Compensation

SHOULD EMPLOYEES BE PAID FOR WORK-RELATED WAIT TIME?

A: Yes. Based on the level of employer control and the benefit the store derived from the extra minutes you spent waiting, you are be entitled to additional compensation. Since you already worked for 8 hours, you are also entitled to overtime pay.

     There are work-related tasks that employees do for the employer’s benefit that employees should be additionally compensated. These activities fall within “work time,” which is essentially the time an employee spends on activities that are controlled by and for the benefit of the employer. Work time includes all the time that the employee is required to be present at the workplace.

     Examples of these activities are:

       1) time spent changing clothes or washing on the employer’s premises as compelled by the necessities of the employer’s business;
       2) time spent attending training programs, lectures and meetings directly related to the employee’s job and where attendance is mandatory;
       3) time spent on intern programs for the benefit of a specific employer;
       4) try-out time that includes training that results in productivity for the employer; and
       5) reporting time pay where an employee is required to report for work and does report, but is not put to work.

     In retail industry, particularly department or grocery stores, employers will require employees to undergo bag inspections before the employees can leave the store premises for breaks or at the end of their shifts. The bag inspections are part of the employer’s loss prevention efforts to stop or discourage internal theft by employees. Although bag checks in and of themselves are not prohibited by California law, it becomes problematic when the bag checks consume a significant amount of the employee’s own personal time.

     This very same issue was litigated by former and current employees of Polo Ralph Lauren. The employees alleged that the company failed to pay its employees for the time they spent waiting for and undergoing bag checks at the end of their shifts. The employees alleged that they would wait up to half an hour for the bag checks to be performed before they can leave the stores.

     The Polo Ralph Lauren employees argued that since they were locked inside their stores after they had clocked out at the end of their shifts while waiting for the bag checks, the physical confinement plainly demonstrated the employer’s “control” over them. Therefore, since their time was subject to the employer’s control to benefit the employer, the employer owed them additional compensation for the time they spent related to the bag checks. The 6,000 employees obtained a $4 million mid-trial settlement for their efforts.

     Employers who accept the benefits of the work performed by its non-exempt employees must pay the wages due to the employees. Anything less is unfair to the employees and they have the right to find redress under the law. ©

© Law Offices C. Joe Sayas, Jr.