KIMBERLY Murphy worked at a Caremark CVS pharmacy in California. As a pharmacy employee, she was required by her employer to undergo a security inspection of her bag every time she leaves the store. The employer also required employees to label items brought from home or items purchased at the store. This policy applied to all employees. The employees who underwent the inspection were off-the-clock. This means that the time they spent going through the inspection line is unpaid.
Should the employer pay employees for the time spent for these inspections?
In the retail industry, employers set up elaborate security measures to minimize thefts. These can include bag checks when 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 unless and until they are checked. Depending on how efficient the procedures are, and how many employees are checking out at the same, 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:
a) preliminary work before they actually start their workday and perform their main job, or
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.” Under California law, 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.
During litigation of the case against CVS, the court ordered a survey of CVS employees which found that 100 percent of the survey’s respondents reported undergoing the bag checks while off the clock during the class period. After several years of litigation, CVS decided to settle the employees’ claims by paying $12,750,000 million.
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 additional 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 should inquire with experienced employment attorneys to determine if additional wages are due to them under the law.
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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.
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C. Joe Sayas, Jr., Esq. is an experienced trial attorney who has successfully obtained significant recoveries for thousands of employees and consumers. He is named Top Labor & Employment Attorney in California by the Daily Journal, consistently Aselected as Super Lawyer by the Los Angeles Magazine, and is a member of the Million Dollar-Advocates Forum.