Do you know how much time it takes your call-center (non-exempt) reps to login to the system before they can clock-in to the timekeeping system? Is it 15 seconds? 50 seconds? A few minutes as the hourglass spins and the programs load? If your employees are teleworking, does the clock-in process take longer because employees must first login to the remote network?
These are questions every employer must be able to answer. Why? Because login time is generally compensable (paid) time.
A new putative class action against QVC in Pennsylvania federal court provides a good study. In Adams et al. v QVC, call center employees allege the company shorted them pay for time spent logging in and out at the beginning and end of their shifts. The lawsuit complaint alleges QVC call center workers often spent 10 to 20 minutes before their shifts getting connected and logged in to various computer, software, and phone systems, and another 10 to 15 minutes at the end of each shift logging out.
"Defendant arbitrarily failed to count this work performed by plaintiff and other similarly situated employees as 'hours worked,'" the complaint said. "Plaintiff and other similarly situated employees performed this unpaid work every workday, and it constituted a part of their fixed and regular working time."
The complaint further alleges QVC had the capability to track how much time was spent doing those duties on either end of the shift, but did not keep such records.
Adams seeks to represent a nationwide, opt-in collective of current and former QVC workers seeking unpaid wages and overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, and a class of Pennsylvania QVC employees under the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act. The suit seeks to make QVC cover the unpaid wages, plus any statutory liquidated damages and attorney fees.
Need assistance auditing your nonexempt employees' time spent logging in and logging out? Don't worry, we're here to help!
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