Labor & Employment Law Blog

Today, in Bamonte v. City of Mesa, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the time police officers spend putting on and taking off their police uniforms and police gear is not compensable time under Federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Portal-to-Portal Act because the City of Mesa did not require the officers to put on or take off their uniforms and gear at the workplace. The court explained that while the officers might for valid reasons prefer to put on and take off their uniforms and gear at the workplace and not at home, that preference on the part of the officers did not render the time spent performing those tasks compensable time.

As we previously reported here and here, there are important differences between what an employer is required to do under Federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act and what an employer is required to do under California law. Private employers in California should note that a California court would apply different standards to determine whether the time employees spend putting on or taking off uniforms and/or work related gear is or is not compensable time.

Click here to download and to read a copy of the opinion.