The issue of payment (or not) for undergoing security checks has been a hot item of late, especially since the US Supreme Court issued its momentous decision in Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk. Now, these controversies have taken on a new tweak with COVID-related screenings. In a recent case, a group of workers are
Compensable Time
Paid Time Off For Getting The Vaccine: States Are Moving Towards That.
By Mark Tabakman on
I have been asked many times by clients if they need to give employees paid time off in order to get the vaccine. I tell them (in New Jersey) that they are not compelled to do so, but it is a good idea. Some States have gone farther than just suggesting it is a “good…
Homework Can be Compensable Work Hours—Can You Believe It?
By Mark Tabakman on
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…
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.…