Daily Blast January 8, 2015

The California Supreme Court just issued an opinion in Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, Inc. (Jan. 8, 2015, S212704) ___ Cal.4th ___, addressing the following issue: Are the guards that defendants provide for construction site security entitled to compensation for all nighttime “on call” hours, or may defendants deduct sleep time depending on the structure of the guards’ work shifts? The Supreme Court held that the on-call hours constituted compensable hours worked and sleep-time could not be excluded. (Slip opn., p. 4.)

The Supreme Court explained that wage and hour claims are governed by the provisions of the Labor Code and 18 wage orders adopted by the Industrial Welfare Commission (”IWC”). Wage Order 4 defines hours worked as “the time during which an employee is subject to the control of an employer, and includes all the time the employee is suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so.” (Slip opn., p. 5 quoting Wage Order 4, subd. 2(K).) Courts have primarily focused on the extent of the employer’s control when determining whether on-call time constitutes hours worked. (Slip opn., p. 7.) The Supreme Court held that because guards were required to reside in their trailers as a condition of employment, then the guards on-call time constituted hours worked subject to the minimum wage and overtime provisions of Wage Order 4. (Id. at pp. 9, 20.)  The Supreme Court further held that state and federal regulations did not permit CPS to exclude sleep time from plaintiffs’ 24-hour shifts. (Id. at p. 20.)

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