Is going through security checks compensable work time?

Chelsea Hamilton and Alyssa Hernandez worked for Wal-Mart at its Fulfillment Center in Chino, California for several years. These employees sued their employer in a class action for, among other things, unpaid overtime and minimum wages.

The employees claimed that Wal-Mart required employees to go through mandatory off-the-clock security checks during each meal period and at the end of the shift without being paid for the time spent walking to the security checkpoint after clocking out and time spent waiting in line and passing through security.

Wal-Mart’s policy of requiring employees to go through security checks when leaving the facility, including during meal breaks, cut into the legally required thirty-minute meal period, making it too short. Employees claimed that Wal-Mart’s security checkpoint policy discouraged employees from leaving the premises during meal periods to a degree that violates California meal period law.

Therefore, the employees claimed that Wal-Mart failed to provide meal periods in compliance with California law.

Wal-Mart denied all the employees’ claims and contended that it complied with all applicable laws and paid its employees all wages and other payments that were owed.

In the retail industry, employers set up elaborate security measures to minimize thefts. These can include bag checks before employees leave the work premises. However, the procedure may result in wage losses, as employees are required to undergo security checks on unpaid time. Employees are not able to leave until they are checked. The time spent during the checks could easily add up for employees.

Under California law, employees should be paid for all hours worked. “Hours worked” is that time during which an employee is subject to the control of an employer. It includes all the time the employee is suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so. Hence, employees should be paid when required to do the following:

1. preliminary work before they actually start their workday and perform their main job, or

1. b) postliminary work which are tasks performed after their main job is completed, (such as cleaning or maintaining tools or equipment, removing protective gear, sanitizing or disinfecting, or security inspections after the end of their shift)

It does not matter if an activity is not part of the employee’s “principal activities.” Employees must be paid for the time they are ‘subject to the control’ of their employer even if they are not working (i.e., not performing their principal activity) during that time. This so-called ‘unproductive’ time is still compensable.

Prior to trial, the Court entered an Order certifying the case as a class action. The case then went to trial before a federal jury. The jury found in favor of the employees and awarded $6.1 million to them.

Employees who spend time under their employer’s control before or after their scheduled shifts should not take their time for granted. Fifteen minutes spent going through security checks at work may not sound like a lot. However, if it occurs regularly over several years, the wages owed to the employee may be significant. Moreover, if it happens to several employees, then the employer has saved on labor costs, by passing the costs to its workers. Workers would be smart to inquire with experienced employment attorneys to determine if additional wages are due to them.

The Law Offices of C. Joe Sayas, Jr. welcomes inquiries about this topic. All inquiries are confidential and at no-cost. You can contact the office at (818) 291-0088 or visit www.joesayaslaw.com. [C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully recovered wages and other monetary damages for thousands of employees and consumers. He was named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently selected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a Presidential Awardee for Outstanding Filipino Overseas in 2018.]