In an unusual move, an appeals court decision earlier this month put the timekeeping burden for unpaid off-the-clock work on the employee, not the employer.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s decertification of a class action lawsuit on Nov. 6. The 6th Circuit held that the plaintiff had not recorded the time she worked as company policy dictated. The decision was a departure from the usual line of thinking that the employer is responsible for not properly keeping track of time. The case is White v. Baptist Memorial HealthCare Corp.; Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto Inc., No. 11-5717 (6th Cir. Nov. 6, 2012).
According to court documents, White worked as a nurse in Baptist Memorial’s emergency department between August 2005 and August 2007. When White was hired she was given an employee handbook that spelled out the organization’s break policies, including instructions for employees to record all time spent performing work during their meal break times because breaks were interrupted or missed in an “exception log.” White signed a document stating she understood the meal break policy, including the stipulation that time worked during breaks had to be recorded in the exception log by employees to ensure compensation.
Court documents said White did not have a regularly scheduled meal break because of the nature of her particular job; breaks happened when work demands allowed.
White filed a lawsuit and moved for conditional class certification in 2008, alleging that Baptist Memorial had violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not compensating her properly for working during her lunch breaks. When Baptist Memorial filed for summary judgment and class decertification, the district court granted its motions. White then appealed.
“Under the FLSA, if an employer establishes a reasonable process for an employee to report uncompensated work time the employer is not liable for non-payment if the employee fails to follow the established process,” the court said in its decision. “When the employee fails to follow reasonable time reporting procedures she prevents the employer from knowing its obligation to compensate the employee and thwarts the employer’s ability to comply with the FLSA.”
Thompson customers can read a full analysis of the 6th Circuit’s decision at http://hr.complianceexpert.com/.