Hourly employees- when does the clock start and stop?
Stan K
me about the way things were decades before that, I'm wondering what
the current law is concerning when the hourly employee clock starts
and stops. Here are some examples-
1. The 5&10 opens at 9:00am; however employees are required to be in
the stockroom by 8:40am, and at 8:45am go into the store area to set
up their areas. They were paid starting at 9:00am; when should the
clock have started?
1a. Likewise, those who were working at closing had to take care
of any customers still in the store, then clean up their areas, and
finally close down the cash registers and bring the cash and summary
tapes to the office. However, the clock stopped at the scheduled
store closing.
2. The job site was 50 miles from the company office. The employees
had to assemble at the office to pick up their tools or materials,
receive their assignments, and be transported to the job site
(employer provided transportation). The employees claim they were on
the job when they reported to the office; the company claimed that
until they were at the job site, they were on their own personal
commuting time. Who's legally right?
3. Similar to #1 above, but while the employer doesn't specify a
reporting time, he requires that the employees have the store open for
business at the scheduled opening time. It takes about 10 minutes for
the employees to make this happen. Obviously the reason I'm
mentioning this is that the employee were paid only from the opening
time.
4. Similar to #4; in this case, employees who need to drive to work
are required to park about 5 miles from the work site because on-site
parking is barely sufficient to accomodate customers; the employer
provides a shuttle bus to the work site? Is the shuttle bus ride part
of the commute or part of the work hours?
5. The manufacturing job requires special clothing, etc., which is
either impractical to wear during the commute or which the employer
refuses to let leave the work site, and the amount of time needed to
change in or out isn't trivial (figure 15 mins). Is the changing time
legally supposed to be on the clock?
5a. How about, because of the kind of work that the job is, the
employees need to shower before leaving the work site. Is that
legally on-the-job time?
If it's a Union Shop, I'm sure all of these issues would be covered by
the Collective Bargaining Agreement; I'm looking for what the law is
when there is no union contract.
Barry Gold
>Based on my own work experience years ago, and stories my parents told
>me about the way things were decades before that, I'm wondering what
>the current law is concerning when the hourly employee clock starts
>and stops. Here are some examples-
>
>1. The 5&10 opens at 9:00am; however employees are required to be in
>the stockroom by 8:40am, and at 8:45am go into the store area to set
>up their areas. They were paid starting at 9:00am; when should the
>clock have started?
When the employer requires them to do anything (including be
physically present), the clock starts. If their physical presence is
needed as an indirect consequence, the clock doesn't start until they
actually begin working.
Example: You are non-exempt; your shift starts at 8 AM. Your office is
on the 7th floor. Because of morning congestion in the elevators, you
need to be in the workplace by 7:45 AM in order to be sure of being at
your desk and available at 8AM. The clock starts at 8AM.
But in the example you gave, where the employees are required to
report in the stockroom at 8:40AM, the clock starts at 8:40 AM. Even
in the the absence of that, the clock _certainly_ starts at 8:45 when
they begin "setting up". Setting up is work, just as much as actually
standing at the register selling stuff.
> 1a. Likewise, those who were working at closing had to take care
>of any customers still in the store, then clean up their areas, and
>finally close down the cash registers and bring the cash and summary
>tapes to the office. However, the clock stopped at the scheduled
>store closing.
Another wages/hours violation. They should be "on the clock" until
they finish all required work. That includes taking care of
customers, cleaning up, closing down registers, *and* bringing in the
tapes. If they are required to do it, they are working and should be
paid for it.
>2. The job site was 50 miles from the company office. The employees
>had to assemble at the office to pick up their tools or materials,
>receive their assignments, and be transported to the job site
>(employer provided transportation). The employees claim they were on
>the job when they reported to the office; the company claimed that
>until they were at the job site, they were on their own personal
>commuting time. Who's legally right?
IANAL, but I think the employees are right. Again, their day starts
when they are required to be there. If they had the option of taking
their tools and materials home, then going directly to the job site
the next morning, their day would begin when they showed up and
started working.
>3. Similar to #1 above, but while the employer doesn't specify a
>reporting time, he requires that the employees have the store open for
>business at the scheduled opening time. It takes about 10 minutes for
>the employees to make this happen. Obviously the reason I'm
>mentioning this is that the employee were paid only from the opening
>time.
Again, if "having the store open" takes 10 minutes of setup time, the
employees should be paid for this time.
>4. Similar to #4; in this case, employees who need to drive to work
>are required to park about 5 miles from the work site because on-site
>parking is barely sufficient to accomodate customers; the employer
>provides a shuttle bus to the work site? Is the shuttle bus ride part
>of the commute or part of the work hours?
If the employer _requires_ them to park 5 miles away, it could be
argue that they are on the clock when they show up at the parking lot.
But if parking 5 miles away is just a consequence of the shortage of
local parking, and the parking lot and bus ride are merely a courtesy
provided by the employer, then their work day starts when they
actually begin work at the site.
>5. The manufacturing job requires special clothing, etc., which is
>either impractical to wear during the commute or which the employer
>refuses to let leave the work site, and the amount of time needed to
>change in or out isn't trivial (figure 15 mins). Is the changing time
>legally supposed to be on the clock?
It used to be that changing time was considered "off clock". But
recent rulings have reverse that, at least in California. If the
special clothing is not wearable as normal street wear, or the
employer refuses to let employees wear it away from the work site, the
changing time counts as time worked.
> 5a. How about, because of the kind of work that the job is, the
>employees need to shower before leaving the work site. Is that
>legally on-the-job time?
Usually not. Showering is part of normal personal hygiene. If it
happens that the work leaves the employee sweaty, so that he feels
that he needs a shower, that is his personal choice and does _not_
count as time worked.
Two exceptions come to mind:
1) The work involves hazardous materials, and the employee needs
to shower before leaving because otherwise he would carry hazmat
into the uncontaminated outer world. In this case, I think a good
argument could be made that the shower is time worked.
2) The employer _requires_ employees to shower before leaving
work, as a condition of employment. In that case, the shower is
definitely time worked.
--
Barry Gold, webmaster:
Alarums & Excursions, Xenofilkia: http://places.to/xeno
Conchord: http://www.conchord.org
Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc.: http://www.lasfsinc.org
Stuart A. Bronstein
> 1. The 5&10 opens at 9:00am; however employees are required to be
> in the stockroom by 8:40am, and at 8:45am go into the store area
> to set up their areas. They were paid starting at 9:00am; when
> should the clock have started?
At 8:40 when they are required to be there - assuming they are there,
of course.
> 1a. Likewise, those who were working at closing had to take care
> of any customers still in the store, then clean up their areas,
> and finally close down the cash registers and bring the cash and
> summary tapes to the office. However, the clock stopped at the
> scheduled store closing.
Same thing. If the employees were not free to leave at closing time,
they have to be paid until their work day ceases.
> 2. The job site was 50 miles from the company office. The
> employees had to assemble at the office to pick up their tools or
> materials, receive their assignments, and be transported to the
> job site (employer provided transportation). The employees claim
> they were on the job when they reported to the office; the company
> claimed that until they were at the job site, they were on their
> own personal commuting time. Who's legally right?
If they were required to show up at the office for the trip, time
starts when they arrived at the company office.
If they were able to go directly, there might be a nuance concerning
travel more than they would normally commute, but I'm not aware of
such a rule or what it would say.
> 3. Similar to #1 above, but while the employer doesn't specify a
> reporting time, he requires that the employees have the store open
> for business at the scheduled opening time. It takes about 10
> minutes for the employees to make this happen. Obviously the
> reason I'm mentioning this is that the employee were paid only
> from the opening time.
Again, if they could just show up at opening time and had no duties
before that, their work time doesn't start until then. But if they
have duties before opening, they have to be paid for them.
> 4. Similar to #4; in this case, employees who need to drive to
> work are required to park about 5 miles from the work site because
> on-site parking is barely sufficient to accomodate customers; the
> employer provides a shuttle bus to the work site? Is the shuttle
> bus ride part of the commute or part of the work hours?
They could take a cab or ride a bike, so it seems to me that would be
considered commuting time.
> 5. The manufacturing job requires special clothing, etc., which
> is either impractical to wear during the commute or which the
> employer refuses to let leave the work site, and the amount of
> time needed to change in or out isn't trivial (figure 15 mins).
> Is the changing time legally supposed to be on the clock?
Assuming the workers couldn't change at home, yes they have to be
paid for this time.
> 5a. How about, because of the kind of work that the job is, the
> employees need to shower before leaving the work site. Is that
> legally on-the-job time?
Is he required by his employer to shower? If so, he has to be paid
for that time. If it's just for his convenience, then it's his own
time.
Stu
Robert Bonomi
Stan K <stan...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Based on my own work experience years ago, and stories my parents told
>me about the way things were decades before that, I'm wondering what
>the current law is concerning when the hourly employee clock starts
>and stops. Here are some examples-
All my answers *assume* United States labor law -- 10 demerits for not
specifying a jurisdiction.
I'm also _assuming_ that you're not talking about 'exempt' employees.
>1. The 5&10 opens at 9:00am; however employees are required to be in
>the stockroom by 8:40am, and at 8:45am go into the store area to set
>up their areas. They were paid starting at 9:00am; when should the
>clock have started?
Law is clear, they have to be paid from at least 8:40.
> 1a. Likewise, those who were working at closing had to take care
>of any customers still in the store, then clean up their areas, and
>finally close down the cash registers and bring the cash and summary
>tapes to the office. However, the clock stopped at the scheduled
>store closing.
Bzzzt! The "Wages and hours" people would *not* like that.
>2. The job site was 50 miles from the company office. The employees
>had to assemble at the office to pick up their tools or materials,
>receive their assignments, and be transported to the job site
>(employer provided transportation). The employees claim they were on
>the job when they reported to the office; the company claimed that
>until they were at the job site, they were on their own personal
>commuting time. Who's legally right?
The employee. no question.
>3. Similar to #1 above, but while the employer doesn't specify a
>reporting time, he requires that the employees have the store open for
>business at the scheduled opening time. It takes about 10 minutes for
>the employees to make this happen. Obviously the reason I'm
>mentioning this is that the employee were paid only from the opening
>time.
The law requires that the employee be paid from the time that they show up
and start working, period. Doesn't matter _what_ the store hours are that
day, or even if the store opens at all.
And, if, as in this scenario, the employer has -not- specified a 'do not begin
_before_ x:xx', then he has to pay for the time from _whenever_ the employee's
'clock in', *regardless* of how far before 'store opening time' that is.
>4. Similar to #4; in this case, employees who need to drive to work
>are required to park about 5 miles from the work site because on-site
>parking is barely sufficient to accomodate customers; the employer
>provides a shuttle bus to the work site? Is the shuttle bus ride part
>of the commute or part of the work hours?
Insufficient data, or "it depends." <wry grin>
If employees are free to park elsewhere, 'near' the work site, in space
not under the employer's control, then the employer is providing an 'optional',
convenience-service for the employees, and the shuttle-bus is part of the
'commute' time.
OTOH, if _all_ employees are required to report to the remote parking
facility, and disperse from there to their duty stations, then the on-the-job
time starts at the remote-parking reporting point.
>5. The manufacturing job requires special clothing, etc., which is
>either impractical to wear during the commute or which the employer
>refuses to let leave the work site, and the amount of time needed to
>change in or out isn't trivial (figure 15 mins). Is the changing time
>legally supposed to be on the clock?
Yup.
>
> 5a. How about, because of the kind of work that the job is, the
>employees need to shower before leaving the work site. Is that
>legally on-the-job time?
"It Depends" applies. "Fact specific", and not enough facts provided to
even hazard a guess.
>
>If it's a Union Shop, I'm sure all of these issues would be covered by
>the Collective Bargaining Agreement; I'm looking for what the law is
>when there is no union contract.
The magic words for searching are "Wages & Hours", _including_ the quote-marks.
There is a sh*tload of regulations at the Federal level, plus _another_
"load and a half" at the state level, for whatever state(s) you're in.
mm
<stan...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>1. The 5&10 opens at 9:00am; however employees are required to be in
>the stockroom by 8:40am, and at 8:45am go into the store area to set
>up their areas. They were paid starting at 9:00am; when should the
>clock have started?
>
> 1a. Likewise, those who were working at closing had to take care
>of any customers still in the store, then clean up their areas, and
>finally close down the cash registers and bring the cash and summary
>tapes to the office. However, the clock stopped at the scheduled
>store closing.
These and your other examples must be where Walmart learned how to pay
its employees. They've been ordered to stop some or all of those
practices. I hope they have.