Many companies require their employees to go through a security check before or after their shifts. This includes waiting for the checks, walking through detectors, scans, bag checks, and other mandatory procedures before or after work. Whether it takes 30 minutes or just a minute, employers must pay wages for this time.

In 2020, the California Supreme Court decided this issue in Frlekin v. Apple, Inc. In that case, Apple prohibited employees from leaving after their shift without going through a bag inspection by a manager or security guard. But Apple made employees clock out before the bag checks. The court ruled that the time that Apple employees could not leave because they were waiting for and going through the bag check was “hours worked” and must be included in paid working time. Apple argued that employees could avoid the security check by not bringing a bag or wallet to work. Since employees are choosing to bring a bag, Apple argued, the security check time should be unpaid. The court rejected Apple’s position – recognizing that most of us need to carry a bag of some kind and doing so should not require you to work without pay.

This rule may be expanding to time spent by employees waiting in their own cars to show identification and go through a security check. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has asked the California Supreme Court to weigh in on the case of employees working at a solar energy plant who were required to wait in a line in their personal vehicles to check in through a manned security gate. Huerta v. CSI Electrical Contractors, Inc. is currently ongoing at the California Supreme Court. Please check back with us for updates on this case.

If you are waiting for security checks but not receiving pay for that time, or have any other employment-related questions, please call us at (626) 240-0575.