The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that time spent booting up computers for call center employees at the beginning of their shift is integral and indispensable to their work and thus compensable under federal wage and hour law. The October 24 decision in Cadena et al. v. Customer Connexx LLC will directly impact employers on the west coast (California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Hawaii, and Alaska) but could also carry over to employers across the country. And it needs to be read in conjunction with state wage laws – which are at times stricter than federal law. What do employers need to know about this development?
Case Revolved Around Common Work Practice: Booting Up Computers
Connexx operates a call center in Las Vegas, Nevada that provides customer service and scheduling for an appliance recycling business. The call center agents work in-person at a call center and their primary responsibilities are to provide customer service and scheduling functions for customers over the phone. The employees clock in and out using Connexx’s computer-based timekeeping program.
To access the program at the beginning of their shift, the employees must awaken or turn on their computers, log in using their username and password, and open up the timekeeping system. At the end of their shift, the agents wrap up their calls, close out of programs, and clock out and then log off or shut down their computers.
The call center agents alleged that they...
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