California law is generally more expansive than federal law in determining “hours worked,” defining it as the time when the employee is subject to your control or during which the employee is “suffered or permitted” to work. California's labor laws require pay for all hours worked - even if the time spent is minimal or “de minimis.” For more information, see “De Minimis Time” in Timekeeping and Recording Guidelines.

A good rule of thumb for California employers is that if the employee engages in activities before or after their shift begins because the job requires the employee to do so and you control how, when and where the employee does so, the time would be considered hours worked and need to be paid.

If your employees spend time “donning and doffing”— changing into and out of clothes, uniforms or protective gear before or after their shifts — evaluate the time spent to determine whether it must be paid. In the nonunion workplace, employees must generally be compensated for time spent donning and doffing. California law provides that “time spent changing clothes or washing up on the employer's premises is compensable when compelled by the necessities of the employer's business.”1

When the changing could be done at home, it may not be compensable. For example, putting on a black polo shirt for a job at a coffee shop would not be compensable time unless an employer maintained the polo shirts at work and required an employee to change when they got there

If the time spent changing into and out of clothes occurs regularly and is part of the work the employee was hired to do, the best practice is to capture the time spent and ensure it is paid.

Unlike non-union settings, the unionized workplaces setting haves different rules that allow the employer and employees to bargain over whether time spent changing clothes is compensable. Section 203(o) of the FLSA allows the employer and the union to agree whether the “time spent in changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday must be compensated.”

• If employees are engaging in activities at the start or end of their shift, consider whether the employees are under your control during those activities. Employers with questions about compensating employees for pre- or post- shift activities should seek advice of legal counsel.

1. DLSE Enforcement Policies and Interpretations Manual sec. 46.6.1