California Labor Law: Working Round the Clock

Sacramento, CAOver the years, LawyersandSettlements has interviewed many disgruntled hourly employees who have worked over and above their 40-hour work week and have not received overtime pay, contrary to the California Labor Law. From IT employees to maintenance workers, employers are increasingly 'squeezing' their employees to work more hours.

Some employees are issued cellphones so they can take messages after hours—no matter where they are. Or they are asked to send work-related emails from home. Even better (for employers) are smart phones—pagers are almost extinct. Now workers can access the Internet, email and voice call and analysts are predicting that, with cheaper technology, more workers will have these devices. And that likely means more workers will be working round the clock without extra pay.

But what's a call here and there worth? Where do you draw the line? Historically, the Department of Labor said workers don't have to be paid for carrying pagers unless they get buzzed so much it interferes with "personal pursuits", meaning it's a gray area. However, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act says employees must be paid for work performed off the clock, even if the work was voluntary.

Recently, lawsuits have raised the question whether or not hourly employees be paid for time spent responding to phone calls or emails after they have clocked out. This past March, a former maintenance worker filed a lawsuit against CB Richard Ellis Group Inc., claiming pay for time spent after hours receiving and responding to messages on his work-issued cellphone.

And a California appeals court recently reinstated a suit by employees of medical-technology provider Lincare Inc. seeking compensation for time spent answering customer questions by phone while on call.

Other court decisions have ruled that some hourly employees be paid for putting on and taking off work uniforms, like police gear, and for time spent while booting up computers. As well, workers and their advocates have filed lawsuits claiming overtime while driving to and from assignments off company property.

It would seem that the California Labor Law errs on the side of the FLSA: work performed is work paid, including phone calls and emails off the clock.