16 Nov TIME SPENT BOOTING UP COMPUTER MAY BE COMPENSABLE
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision on October 24, 2022 in Cadena v. Customer Connexx LLC (9th Cir. 2022) 51 F.4th 831, holding that employees working at a call center may be owed additional pay under the FLSA for the time they spend booting up their computers at the start of their shifts.
The employees had to log into their employer’s computer system to clock in for their shift. The employees alleged they frequently had to wait several minutes after they booted up the computer before they were able to clock in but were not paid for this time. Under the FLSA, “preliminary or postliminary” activities are compensable if they are an “integral and indispensable” part of the employee’s productive work. (Integrity Staffing Sols., Inc. v. Busk (2014) 574 U.S. 27, 36.) The Ninth Circuit held the time booting up the computer may be compensable because the employees could not perform their primary duties without turning on and booting up their computers.
The decision can potentially have far-reaching implications for employers. Many employers utilize computer-based time keeping systems to record employee work hours. If employees must also use their computer to perform their work duties – which is almost always the case — then the time spent booting up the computer and logging in can also be considered compensable time. Although the Court left open the possibility that the amount of time spent booting up the computer may be so short as to fall under the so-called “de minimis” doctrine, this doctrine is largely inapplicable under California state law, and California employers must pay employees for all work time no matter how brief.
