De Minimis Time Must Be Compensated, Tenth Circuit Rules

Although the unpaid time employees spent booting up their computers was relatively small, it was compensable and the employer failed to establish the practical administrative difficulty of estimating the time at issue, which occurred with "exceeding regularity," the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held, reversing summary judgment in favor of an employer in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) case.

Call center representatives (CCRs) who worked for Nelnet Diversified Solutions filed an FLSA action, alleging that they were not paid for the time devoted to booting up their work computers and launching certain software before they clocked in.

A CCR must insert a security badge into the computer and enter his or her credentials before the computer launches a specialized software program, that in turn loads the CCR's personal desktop and Nelnet's intranet, which contains a link to the timekeeping system. Only then can a CCR clock in and begin