Suppose you had an employee who comes to work a few minutes early each day to catch up on things before the day started. She did not clock in for this extra time, but clocked in at her regularly scheduled work time. Unbeknownst to you, and without your permission, she worked approximately 3 hours per week "off the clock." Once you discover this practice, must you pay her for the time she worked "off the clock?"
The answer, in most cases, is "Yes." A recent California case decided that unless you have a clear, written policy prohibiting the conduct that has been distributed to all employees, you usually must pay for "off the clock" work. Are you surprised by this?
If you have only one employee or independent contractor, you must become knowledgeable about wage and hour laws and have well drafted, consistently applied workplace policies and procedures.
CA Workplace Law is a Monterey Employment law Firm. Attorney Elisabeth DeBartolo can perform a complete evaluation of your pay practices and workplace policies and ensure that you have the best tools to comply with the law and avoid wage and hour claims.
Another 2015 law that may interest you is the requirement that employers reimburse employees who use their personal cell phones for business purposes. The reimbursement is required, even if an employee's plan already has unlimited minutes. Employers are required to negotiate with their employees a "reasonable" reimbursement rate for the amount of time spent on their personal phones for business.
A small business owner asked me yesterday "how are we supposed to know about these new laws when they come out?" There are several answers, but a really good one is to call me.
