Work done before or after scheduled shifts in California must be paid

Over 1,300 call center-based nurses sued Permanente Medical Group, Inc., the medical group that staffs the Kaiser Permanente system, claiming that they were not paid correctly for the time they spent doing tasks at the beginning, middle, and end of their shifts.

The nurses, who worked in Sacramento, San Jose, and Vallejo, claimed they were not paid for all their off-the-clock work. Unpaid work included time they spent logging into software programs at the beginning of their shifts (which
took between 4 to 10 minutes and as much as 30 minutes). It also included time spent logging out of the software programs and finishing phone calls at the end of their shifts, which also took several minutes. The nurses also claimed that the time they spent logging back into their computer systems interfered with their meal and rest periods resulting in them not being provided full and uninterrupted breaks.

The nurses argued that the employer’s uniform policies and training led to these violations. They submitted to the court policy manuals and a job description for Advice Nurses that they said caused them to incur these unpaid off-the-clock work.

Under California law, “off-the-clock” work is considered “hours worked.” “Off-the-clock” hours are hours worked by employees before or after their regular scheduled hours, even if the employer has not directly required or authorized that the off-the-clock activities be performed.  Off-the-clock hours may include coming to work early to work before the shift’s official starting time or continuing to work after one has clocked out for one’s official end time. It also includes work done during the employee’s mandated breaks.

Off-the-clock work may also include preliminary or preparatory activities that employees do before they do their main tasks. For example, employees may spend time putting on a special uniform or gear before they clock in for work. Or employees may spend time cleaning equipment after clocking out of their shift. Some employees may take work home or are contacted at home by telephone for work-related reasons or are “called back” to work. All of these post-shift activities fall within hours worked and should be paid.

If any of these activities caused the employees to work overtime hours, then California law requires that the employees be paid at the premium rate of 1 ½ times the employee’s regular rate if the employee worked more than 8 but less than 12 hours in a work day. If the employee worked more than 12 hours in a work day or in excess of 8 hours on the seventh day in a work week, the employee is entitled to double the employee’s regular rate.

In the case against Permanente, the court granted class certification, giving the nurses the right to go to trial as a class. Rather than proceed to trial, the parties agreed to settle the case, with the employer paying a total of $6.23 million in damages. Approximately 1,325 nurses who worked at the call centers since September 2012 will receive a share of the settlement monies calculated on their actual hours worked.

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 or our Facebook page Joe Sayas Law. [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 the recipient of PABA’s Community Champion Award for 2016.]