On December, 9, 2014, the court issued its decision in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk. The Court ruled that the employer need not compensate warehouse workers for time spent passing through security screenings at the end of their shifts. The employer required its warehouse workers who retrieved inventory and packaged it for shipment, to undergo an antitheft security screening before leaving each day. Federal law requires all employees to be compensated for time that they work for the employer. However, federal law exempts employers from compensating employees for activities which are “preliminary” or “postliminary” to employees’ “principal activities.”
The Court found that the security screenings at issue were non-compensable postliminary activities. The screenings were not the principal activities which the employees were employed to perform. Integrity Staffing did not employ its workers to undergo security screenings, but to retrieve products from warehouse shelves and package those products for shipment to customers. Further, the screenings were not an intrinsic element of retrieving products from warehouse shelves or packaging them for shipment. Integrity Staffing could have eliminated the screenings altogether without impairing the employees’ ability to complete their work.
The Court clarified that time is not compensable simply because the employer “required” the activity. Rather, to be compensable, the activities must be integral to the employee’s “principal activities.” Employers are well-advised to make sure written job descriptions are up-to-date and specific about required job duties.
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