Calif. Court Makes Historic Unpaid Overtime Class Action Ruling

On Jan. 8, in two unpaid overtime class action lawsuits, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that employers are required to compensate on-call workers for all hours spent on the worksite, including time spent sleeping or on other leisurely activities.

According to an opinion written by Justice Carol A. Corrigan, the California Supreme Court decided that security guards hired by defendant CPS Security Solutions Inc. were entitled to monetary compensation for all hours worked, including the time the company required the security guards to stay in worksite trailers, even if these on call hours were spent sleeping, watching TV, or surfing the web.

Two CPS Security unpaid overtime class action lawsuits were filed by California security guards in 2008, alleging their employer violated federal and state minimum wage and overtime laws through their on-call compensation policy and practices. These unpaid overtime class actions lawsuits were later consolidated and a Class of CPS security guards was certified by the court. CPS employs about 1,500 employees, many of whom could benefit from this unpaid overtime class action lawsuit ruling.

Additionally, this California Supreme Court ruling partially overturned the previous California Appeals Court decision, which stated that the security guards represented in this unpaid overtime class action lawsuit did not have to be paid by their employer for the on-call time spent sleeping.

The Future of Unpaid Overtime Allegations By On-Call Employees

According to wage and hour lawyers, the Supreme Court’s decision regarding these unpaid overtime class action lawsuits could have a profound impact on California on-call workers, depending on the requirements a California employer places on those employees. They suspect that the greater control an employer or company exerts on their on-call workers, the more likely it will be that these employers will be required to pay these employees for all hours worked.

In the case of CPS security guards, they were allegedly under extreme control by CPS. According to their class action lawsuit, their movements were restricted while on-call; they were required to respond immediately if summoned by superiors, were not allowed to easily trade on-call responsibilities with other workers, and were not allowed to leave the worksite if another security guard employee was unavailable to relieve them of their duties.

According to the CPS unpaid overtime class action lawsuit, “CPS exerted control in a variety of other ways. Even if relieved, guards had to report where they were going, were subject to recall, and could be no more than 30 minutes away from the site. Restrictions were placed on nonemployee visitors, pets, and alcohol use.”

Other employment attorneys, when asked to comment on this unpaid overtime ruling, have commented that this California Supreme Court decision will likely not affect hospital and government workers, but will have a profound effect on domestic workers who live in homes while attending to welfare of children and elderly individuals.

The Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuits are Case Nos. BC388956 and BC391669, in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

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