Continuing a recent trend of state and federal courts grappling with the compensability of pre- and post-shift activities, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York recently held that employees are not entitled to compensation under the New York Labor Law (NYLL) for time spent walking between warehouse entrances and their assigned work areas before clocking in and after clocking out. In Kratzert et al. v. Target Corporation, the court dismissed a putative class action brought by warehouse employees who alleged that Target failed to pay them for several minutes of walking time at the beginning and end of each shift.
The plaintiffs worked at Target distribution centers in New York. They alleged that employees were required to enter the warehouse, pass through a security checkpoint, and then walk substantial distances to reach time clocks located near their assigned work areas. According to the complaint, employees were not paid for this time spent walking. The employees asserted claims for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime, unpaid promised wages, and wage statement violations under the NYLL, arguing that New York law requires compensation for this time even though similar claims would be barred under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
The issues before the court centered on whether New York’s Miscellaneous Industries Wage Order incorporates Portal-to-Portal Act’s amendments to the FLSA, which generally exclude compensation for certain pre- and post-shift activities. The plaintiffs argued that New York law never adopted those limitations and, therefore, requires employers to pay employees for time spent walking within a facility before and after their shifts. Target argued that New York’s wage regulations incorporate the FLSA “as amended,” including the Portal-to-Portal Act.
The court agreed with Target. After examining the text and history of New York’s wage regulations, as well as several New York Department of Labor opinion letters, the court concluded that New York law incorporates the Portal-to-Portal Act’s limitations on compensable time. The court reasoned that a contrary interpretation would create an inconsistent result under which the same walking time could be compensable for minimum wage purposes but not for overtime purposes.
Applying that interpretation, the court held that the employees’ walking time between warehouse entrances and their workstations was non-compensable. Because the employees were hired to perform warehouse duties, not to walk to and from their work areas, the court held that the walking time was preliminary and postliminary to their principal job duties.
The court also rejected the plaintiffs’ argument that they were “required to be available for work” during the walking period. According to the court, merely being required to remain on the employer’s premises does not, by itself, make the time compensable where employees are not yet performing productive work or activities integral to their principal duties.
Although the plaintiffs have indicated that they intend to appeal, the decision provides important guidance on how New York federal courts view the compensability of pre- and post-shift walking time under the NYLL.
Nevertheless, questions regarding compensable time remain highly fact-specific. Activities that are integral and indispensable to an employee’s principal duties, or that occur after the employee has begun the continuous workday, may still be compensable under both federal and state law. Employers may wish to review timekeeping practices, facility entry procedures, security protocols, and other pre- and post-shift requirements to assess whether any activities performed outside recorded working time could give rise to wage-and-hour claims under federal or state law.
Furthermore, unlike New York, some states’ wage-and-hour laws are more broad than federal law and do not include the Portal-to-Portal Act's limitations regarding the compensability of preliminary and postliminary activities. For example, as we previously reported here, the Illinois Supreme Court recently held that certain pre- and post-shift activities may be compensable under Illinois state law even where they would not be compensable under the FLSA.
We will continue to monitor and report on developments in this case, including any appeal and further guidance regarding the scope of compensable time under the NYLL.
