California Supreme Court Rules Employees Must Be Paid for Sleep Time: Employment Law Manual Updated

Author: Michael Cardman, XpertHR Legal Editor

Professional, clerical and mechanical employees who are required to be on duty for 24 hours or more may not agree to exclude from hours worked regularly scheduled sleeping periods of up to eight hours, even though federal regulations permit such arrangements, the California Supreme Court has ruled in Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, Inc.

In addition, the court ruled that California's wage orders do not implicitly incorporate federal regulations that allow an employees who work at home or reside at their employer's premises to enter into a "reasonable agreement" with their employer about the hours that will constitute work time.

The Hours Worked: California section of the Employment Law Manual has been updated to reflect this ruling.