CEDR Two Minute Trainer: Employee Prepatory Time

Kimmy arrives on time or even early for work every day, and is proud of it. She clocks in by 7:00 a.m., goes to the kitchen to toast a bagel, chats up her coworkers while she eats her breakfast, then takes her purse to the bathroom where she puts on her makeup, brushes her teeth, and finally, puts on her scrub jacket and is ready for the first patient at 7:30 a.m. Is Kimmy the ideal worker or is she guilty of padding the clock? Think about this; even if she only used 15 minutes of that prep time for personal activity, by the end of the year she will have clocked 62½ extra hours of time, plus any overtime each week this extra time caused.

Without violating federal wage and hour laws, what can an employer do to prevent an employee from “padding the clock”? And secondly, when does personal time, or changing into uniforms and the like, have to be paid?

Preparatory and Concluding Activities: The Legal Ins and Outs

According to federal law, employers are allowed to exclude from hours worked the time employees spend performing mere “preliminary” or “postliminary” activities, unless there is a custom or contract to pay wages for that time. For example, time spent commuting to and from work is not compensable, but time spent walking from the time clock to the desk should be. What about what happens in between?

Generally, work time begins when the employee begins doing work on the employer’s behalf. But it depends on the nature of the activity. When an employee clocks in and then proceeds to make personal calls, eat breakfast, and put on makeup, they are not working or performing work-related tasks. Instead, they are engaged in “preliminary activities,” and so are not entitled to be paid for that time.

As for changing clothes, private employers, including most medical and dental offices, must pay employees for all time spent changing into a required uniform or protective gear at the office. If they put on their uniforms at home, it’s generally not compensable time. But there have been a lot of legal battles over this, and union workers or those required to wear an elaborate outfit (e.g. someone wearing a giant tooth character costume) have their own rules.

Specific Rules for Your Practice:

1. Time spent putting on general work attire or even a uniform or scrubs is not compensable unless: the employer mandates the uniform, the uniform is kept on the employer’s premises, and wearing of the uniform is “integral and indispensable to a principal activity or activities which an employee is to perform.” Time spent changing into scrubs is not compensable if the employees are not required to wear them.
2. Non-exempt employees such as medical or dental assistants and other non-professional clinical staff who are required by their employer, OSHA, or other federal or state regulations to wear special protective clothing or safety gear (such as lab jackets, aprons, goggles, or gloves), must be compensated by the employer for this time.
3. Time spent washing scrubs is compensable if the scrubs are: mandated by the employer, are not allowed to leave the employer’s premises (frequently an OSHA requirement), and are considered indispensable to performing the employee’s work duties. Under California law, employers must also compensate employees for time spent on uniform care if employees are made responsible for normal washing and drying of uniforms. If ironing, dry cleaning, or separate laundering is required, the employer must pay for it.
4. Time spent putting on makeup, jewelry, etc. or eating breakfast is not compensable, as these pursuits constitute preliminary activities that are not integral and indispensable to an employee’s principal work duties.
5. Finally, rest periods during the workday that are less than twenty minutes, even if the employee does some personal activities, are still paid time.

The best way to prevent someone from padding the clock, or including their personal activities in their paid time, is to have a clear written policy in a handbook, signed by your employees, and to enforce it using corrective action. It’s best to provide a limit as to how long before and after an employee is expected to begin and end work they can clock in—usually fifteen to twenty minutes, unless they have prior authorization.

Three Things You Can Take Away:

1. A little leeway with employees is good when it comes to monitoring their clocking. Nobody wants to be nickel-and-dimed over a minute here and there.
2. Whether or not a preliminary activity should be included in hours worked depends upon whether that activity is integral and indispensable to an employee’s principal work duties.
3. A clear, written policy, included in an employee handbook and signed by your employees, is the best way to prevent someone from padding the clock.