The De Minimis Doctrine Under the FLSA
The FLSA requires employers to pay employees for all hours worked; the FLSA, however, does not define “work.” The Supreme Court of the United States has sought to provide guidance, and, in the 1946 case of Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Company, it recognized the de minimis rule, which allowed employers to disregard small amounts of time that employees spend on work-related tasks when calculating their total hours worked. According to the Court, “Split-second absurdities are not justified by the actualities of working conditions or by the policy of the [FLSA]. It is only when an employee is required to give up a substantial measure of his time and effort that compensable working time is involved.” The U.S. Department of Labor subsequently issued regulations under the FLSA, which included the following provision, 29 C.F.R. § 785.47:
In recording working time under the Act, insubstantial or insignificant periods of time beyond the scheduled working hours, which cannot as a practical administrative matter be precisely recorded for payroll purposes, may be disregarded. The courts have held that such trifles are de minimis. (Anderson v. Mt. Clemens Pottery Co., 328 U.S. 680 (1946)) This rule applies only where...
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