California On Call Pay Requirements

Employees who work as on call workers in California may or may not be paid for the time that they are on standby waiting to be called for work.

California on call pay laws are very extensive, and sometimes employers may purposefully or inadvertently be breaking the law.

California on call pay laws must be followed, and if they are not, employers open themselves up to be exposed for failure to pay overtime, minimum wages and more.

Specifically, there are five things a California on call pay employee may consider when evaluating if his or her employer is acting under the scope of California law.

The first thing California on call pay workers should look at is how much control the employer has over the employee when looking at determining whether on call standby time is compensable.

In a California Supreme Court case entitled Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, it was determined that the time an employee waits during his or her on call or standby time may be required to be compensated.

In quoting another case that set precedent, Armour & Co. v. Wantock, the judge said, “of course an employer, if he chooses, may hire a man to do nothing, or to do nothing but wait for something to happen.

Refraining from other activity often is a factor of instant readiness to serve, and idleness plays a part in all employments in a stand-by capacity. Readiness to serve may be hired, quite as much as service itself, and time spent lying in wait for threats to the safety of the employer’s property may be treated by the parties as a benefit to the employer.”

The second circumstance that California on call pay employees should consider is looking to the following factors to determine when on call time should be paid:

• Does the employee live on the premises?
• Did the employer restrict the employee’s geographical location during the on-call time?
• Could the employee trade on call shift responsibilities?
• Were the frequency of calls considered unduly restrictive to the employee?
• Was the time limit to respond to a call unduly restrictive?
• Could a pager or similar notification ease any such restrictions?
• Was the employee able to engage in personal pursuits during the on call time?

A third consideration of California on call pay workers is if the employee is required to work 24 hour shifts and how compensation for sleep time was handled.

For example, a California case looked at security guards at construction websites.

During the week, these construction workers worked eight hours, were on call another eight hours and were off duty for eight hours. On weekends, these same guards were on patrol 16 hours and slept while on call for eight hours during the times they were not called to perform.

The court ruled that the employer was required to pay the guards for the time they were spent sleeping on the premises as required by the employer.

A fourth area to examine in California on call pay determination is the pay rate of standby time that is controlled by the employer. If an employee requires that an employee remain on standby, if it is agreed to ahead of time, the employer may pay a rate that is not less than minimum wage during the controlled standby time rather than paying the typical wage to the employee.

The final consideration of California on call pay workers is considering whether travel time is compensated. In the case of Morillion v. Royal Packing Co., the Supreme Court in California ruled that travel time may be considered compensable time if the employee uses transportation as designated by the employee to and from the worksite and meets at a designated location.

California On Call Pay Lawsuit Information

If you are a California on call pay employee and you believe your employer may be violating California on call pay laws, you may be eligible to seek legal compensation. A California labor law attorney can review your case at no charge and can assist you in exploring your legal options.