California High Court Rules Starbucks Must Pay for Off-the-Clock Work

Decision sets new standard for the state in which employers must track and pay for time spent on regularly occurring tasks, even small ones

Starbucks Corp. must pay employees for off-the-clock work such as closing and locking stores, the California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday in a decision that could have broad implications for companies that employ workers paid by the hour across the state.

The decision is a departure from a federal standard that gives employers greater leeway to deny workers’ compensation for short tasks, such as putting on a uniform, that are performed before they clock in or after they clock out.

...