Late last month, the California Supreme Court held that employers must pay non-exempt employees for off-the-clock work that occurs on a regular basis. In Troester v. Starbucks, Douglas Troester, a former Starbucks shift supervisor, alleged that Starbucks did not pay him for performing store closing tasks after clocking out. These tasks included transmitting daily sales, profit and loss, and store inventory data to Starbucks’s corporate headquarters; activating the alarm; locking the front door; and walking his co-workers to their cars. These closing tasks required Troester to work four to 10 additional minutes each workday. Troester sought payment for 12 hours and 50 minutes of work over a 17-month period, which amounted to $102.67.
The California Supreme Court held 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” must compensate employees for that off-the clock time. (California Supreme Court Opinion, at 19-20.) Although the $102.67 amount that Troester sought might seem like a small amount, the California Supreme Court pointed out that that amount “is enough to pay a utility bill, buy a week of groceries, or cover a month of bus fares.” (Id. at 20.)
Is your employer regularly requiring you to perform off-the-clock work? Even if the amount of off-the-clock work is only four to 10 minutes per day, your employer most likely must compensate you for that time.
If you believe that your employer is regularly requiring you to perform off-the-clock work, call ((916) 612-0326) or email ([email protected]) Finley Employment Law today. We serve clients throughout California, including Sacramento, Folsom, Roseville, Granite Bay, and Elk Grove.
The information in this blog post is for general informational and advertising purposes only and is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. Instead, you should speak with a California employment attorney for advice regarding your individual situation.