On December 9, 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States found in the case of Integrity Staffing Solutions Inc. v. Busk that warehouse employees were not entitled to compensation under the FLSA for the 25 minutes they spent at work each day waiting to undergo and undergoing security screenings. The case was initially brought before a district court, where it was dismissed for failure to state a claim. However, on appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th circuit held that the post-shift security screenings that were previously found to be non-compensable postliminary activities were actually integral and indispensible to the employee’s principal activities since they were performed for the employer’s benefit, and were therefore compensable. The Supreme Court of the United States, on review, reached the opposite conclusion and held that security screenings were not integral and indispensible to the employee’s principal activities.
The Supreme Court looked at whether security screenings should be considered “principal activities”, as provided by the Portal to Portal act. The Portal to Portal act states that employers are not required to compensate their employees under the FLSA for non-principal activities. Here, the court defined principal activities as those that are an integral and indispensible part of the employee’s activities. The court found that security screenings were not an integral part of an employee’s activities when considering the employee’s job duties. Specifically, the court stated that the warehouse employees were employed to retrieve and move products from shelves and prepare them for delivery, not to receive security screenings. The court further held that the 9th Circuit’s test, which looked at whether the activity was required by the employer, was too sweeping and would violate the intentions behind the Portal to Portal act.
The Employment Lawyers at Fitapelli & Schaffer frequently represent employees who are denied full compensation for their labor. Please contact us at (212) 300-0375 to schedule a free consultation to further discuss your rights. For more information, please visit our website at www.fslawfirm.com.