I have often blogged (and am concerned about) working time issues, especially when they comprise the basis for a class action. These are “soft,” subtle activities that may rise to the level of compensable time, catching n employer unawares. A recent example of this is a class action filed seeking compensation for “homework” done after
Compensable Time
When Does Travel Become Compensable Work Hours?
By Mark Tabakman on
I blog a lot about working time cases because these are the issues can sneak up on an employer, even the most well intentioned and good faith employer. Travel time is one of these murky, arcane kind of activities that go unnoticed by companies until, often, a lawsuit is filed. Another example emerges. A group…
Donning and Duffing Cases Keep Happening: The Danger of Off-The-Clock Activities
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Working Time
Working time cases come in all sizes and shapes. Many of these off-the-clock cases are so-called donning-and-duffing cases involving clothes changing for work and whether it is compensable. The U.S. Department of Labor has weighed in again on this issue. It has filed a lawsuit against a battery company for its alleged failure to pay…
A Waiting Time/Bag Inspection Case Where The De Minimis Defense Actually Worked!
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Class Actions, Working Time
I have blogged several times recently on the rash of “check bag” cases that have percolated through the courts. Another example. A class of workers employed by Converse Inc. have now asked the Ninth Circuit to revive a class action resting on the theory that the time waiting to go through mandatory security inspections was…
Eddie Bauer Security Check Waiting Time Case Gets Certification: What Is “Working Time”?
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Class Actions, Working Time
What is working time? There are many variations on this theme, some far grayer than others. When does waiting time become working time? Is the employee engaged to be waiting or waiting to be engaged? If the former, then it is working time. A class action involving more than 1,100 workers is now testing these…
Ninth Circuit Finds Beauty School Students Were Not Employees
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Class Actions, Working Time
There have been a great many intern cases recently, cases testing whether interns crossed the line into being statutory employees and therefore covered by the FLSA. I have blogged about these kinds of cases and have specifically blogged about beauty school cases. The Ninth Circuit has just affirmed a lower federal court’s dismissal of…
Third Circuit Rest Break Case Has Different Slant
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Class Actions, Working Time
It is well-established that short rest breaks, so-called coffee breaks, are compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act. In a variation on this age-old theme, in a unique set of circumstances, the Third Circuit has affirmed that employers must pay for breaks of up to twenty (20) minutes. In this case, the Company did not…
Beauty School Students Are “Dropouts” From the FLSA According to Seventh Circuit
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Class Actions, Working Time
In the movie “Grease,” there is a song entitled “Beauty School Dropout,” sung by Frankie Avalon. Well, in a legal version of that number, the Seventh Circuit has affirmed that beauty school students have, sort of, dropped out of the FLSA as they are not considered employees. The case is entitled Hollins v. Regency Corp.…
Apple Workers Denied Class Certification in FLSA Working Time Claim on Security Checks
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Class Actions, Working Time
I often blog about what is and is not working time under the FLSA. Many class actions have been brought on these issues, with some focused on time waiting for security checks. A class of retail workers working for Apple Inc. have sought a ruling that the time they spend having their bags checked at…
Supreme Court Ruling on Pre/Post Shift Activities: New Wine in an Old Bottle
By Mark Tabakman on
Posted in Working Time
I have lectured and presented extensively on what does and does not constitute working time, in the context of preliminary and postliminary activities. The key in such determinations is whether the activity at issue is so connected with the main/major job activity as to make the activity at issue compensable. The US Supreme Court has…