California: Employers Must Pay for Screening Time

In Frlekin v. Apple, Inc., the California Supreme Court stated that employers must pay employees for time spent undergoing security checks before exiting the workplace. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal asked the California Supreme Court to decide the rule in this case two years ago. There, employees were required to clock out and then undergo a security check while still on the premises. The security check was extensive, requiring employees to open and take things out of their bags, and verify the serial numbers of their own Apple products. If they didn’t complete the security check, employees were disciplined. The Court stated that because the employer retained sufficient control over the employee during this process, it was considered working time that should have been compensated.

This case is similar to and extends the 2019 case, Rodriguez v. Nike Retail Servs., Inc., where the Ninth Circuit came to a similar conclusion, stating that time spent undergoing a security check when exiting the workplace was not de minimis time and should be compensated. Frlekin goes one step further and states that this time must be compensated when under employer control. Employers must review their timekeeping practices to ensure compliance with California wage and hour rules.

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