It’s obvious you have to pay employees for all the hours they spend doing their job. But violations of this rule by employers are common, and they can be very expensive. A few years back, for example, Nordstrom had to set aside millions of dollars to settle a class action lawsuit charging numerous “off-the-clock” violations. And now, in three new cases, employers have been sued for huge damages for not paying workers for tasks performed before and after punching the time clock.
Workers Claim Back Wages
In the first new case, a farmworkers group has filed a class action lawsuit against Gargiulo, Inc., headquartered in Watsonville. The workers claim the company, which harvests and sells berries, didn’t pay them for time spent performing warm-up exercises, preparing equipment, and getting assignments before they punched in for work. The lawsuit may involve as many as 1,000 workers, and if Gargiulo is found liable, it could have to fork over millions of dollars in back wages. In response to the lawsuit, Gargiulo said it pays its workers properly.
Employer To Pay $2 Million For Pay Violations
In another recent case, a federal trial court has ordered Monfort, Inc., a meat processing company, to pay almost $2 million in back wages to over 5,000 employees. The lawsuit alleged Monfort didn’t pay workers for time spent before and after their shifts putting on and removing safety equipment, including aprons and arm shields.
The HR Management & Compliance Report: How To Comply with California Wage & Hour Law, explains everything you need to know to stay in compliance with the state’s complex and ever-changing rules, laws, and regulations in this area. Coverage on bonuses, meal and rest breaks, overtime, alternative workweeks, final paychecks, and more.
Taco Bell On Hook For Overtime
In the third case, a jury recently found that certain Taco Bell restaurants illegally required workers to pick up trash, prepare food, and perform other tasks-during breaks and before and after work-without pay. As a result, they are entitled to overtime compensation. Although damages have not yet been determined, the workers’ attorneys place Taco Bell’s liability in the neighborhood of $10 million. The company says it plans to appeal.
When You Do-And Don’t-Have To Pay
As a general rule, you have to pay employees for all the time they are under your control and required or permitted to work. In particular, you must pay workers for activities closely related to their jobs. Here are some examples:
- Preparing or cleaning machines and tools. These tasks are obviously necessary to perform the job, and time spent on them must be compensated.
- Changing clothes and washing up. Generally, as long as these activities are not just for the employee’s personal convenience, the time spent is compensable. For example, you must pay employees for putting on clothing if the nature of the job requires it and it takes more than just a few minutes of the employee’s time.So you would probably have to pay someone for putting on safety equipment or special clothing needed to do the job. But you probably wouldn’t have to pay workers for changing into uniforms, especially if they could just as easily put them on at home.
Also, you may have to compensate employees for changing clothes or washing up at the end of a shift if they must do so because, for example, they work in a toxic or extremely dirty environment. Note, however, that you don’t have to pay for time spent changing clothes, regardless of the reason, if a union agreement excludes it from working time.
- Arriving early, staying late. You have to pay workers for their time if they must arrive early to review log books, exchange work information with employees from the prior shift, or stay late to exchange information with the next shift. However, you don’t have to compensate employees for time spent checking in and out or waiting in line to punch the clock unless a collective bargaining agreement requires it.
Maintain Time Records
Finally, it’s important to keep complete records of all hours your employees work-including all time they put in on tasks before or after their work day. Not only is it required by law, but if you’re challenged, accurate records will make it easier for you to show your workers were correctly paid.