When is an Employee's Off-Site Work (e.g., from Home) Compensable.
A recent Ninth Circuit decision indicates that employers probably do not have to compensate employees for time they spend checking email or voicemail from offsite locations for incidental work related activities like picking up the employee's daily assignments or work schedule. In contrast, however, the court's holding indicates that an employer is obligated to compensate an employee for off-site activities that are directly related to the employee's job duties such as performing or completing a work assignment, unless the time spent is de minimus. A more detailed analysis of the Ninth Circuit's decision in Rutti, et al. v. Lojack Corp., and its implications for employers is set forth in the attached article by my colleagues Judith Droz Keys and Michelle D. Fife, www.dwt.com/LearningCenter/Advisories
