Retail employees are often required to wait by the exit at the end of a shift so a manager can check their bag or backpack before they leave. It usually feels too small to bother with: a minute, maybe five or ten on a busy night. In California, that wait is still work, and it's supposed to be paid.

At JCL Law Firm, APC, we represent California employees in wage and hour class actions built on exactly this kind of overlooked time. We asked Jean-Claude Lapuyade, Managing Partner at JCL Law Firm, APC, to explain why bag checks and similar security screenings are compensable under California law, and where this issue tends to go unnoticed.

In California, the Length of the Wait Isn't the Point

California rejects the federal "de minimis" rule, which lets employers write off very small amounts of unpaid time. Under California law, if an employee isn't free to leave and remains under the employer's control, that time is compensable, no matter how brief.

"Clients often ask how much unpaid waiting time is worth pursuing, since we hear about waits of five to ten minutes for a bag check," Jean-Claude says. "But that's not really the point. If you're not free to leave, and you're still under your employer's control, that time is compensable under California law, whether it's thirty seconds, one minute, or ten minutes."

The legal question isn't how many minutes were on the clock. It's whether the employee was free to go.

A Bag Check at an Outlet Store That Led to a Multi-Million Dollar Recovery

One of the first cases Jean-Claude handled in this area involved a California retail employee at an outlet location of a multinational retail brand.

"At the end of every shift, she had to wait by the front door for a manager to inspect her bag, a routine loss-prevention check," Jean-Claude says. "Depending on how busy the store was, that wait ranged from about a minute up to five or ten minutes, and she wasn't paid for any of it."

The unpaid time wasn't the only issue.

"Beyond the unpaid time, it carried real emotional weight," he adds. "She was a good, long-tenured employee, and having her belongings searched at the end of every eight-hour shift, with the implicit assumption that employees are dishonest or stealing, was humiliating for someone who had worked hard and done nothing wrong."

The case was resolved in the employee's favor, recovering multiple millions of dollars for her and other California employees who worked for the same retailer under the same unpaid bag-check policy. As with any case, the outcome depends on the specific facts, and results in one matter don't predict another.

Where Else This Off-the-Clock Time Shows Up

Bag checks aren't the only place this issue appears.

"This applies broadly," Jean-Claude says. "Waiting in line to badge into the building before a shift, bag checks or loss-prevention searches at the end of a shift, or waiting for a turn at a shared time clock when an entire shift shows up at once. If it's mandatory and employer-controlled, it's legally compensable no matter how short, a rule that was tested repeatedly during mandatory pre-shift health screenings in recent years and still applies just as strongly today."

Any point in the day where an employee is required to wait under the employer's control is worth a second look, not just the moments at the exit door.

The Mistake That Costs Employees the Most

The most common mistake happens well before a case ever reaches an attorney.

"The most common mistake is ignoring the issue," Jean-Claude says. "Employees are often subjected to unpaid off-the-clock work for their entire tenure and say nothing, out of fear of retaliation or fear of losing their job. They don't document it and don't raise it with management, and only bring it up after they've already left the job. At that point, the employer has a ready, and often effective, defense: they would have fixed it if you'd told them."

Documenting the issue and raising it while still employed puts an employee in a stronger position, and it doesn't have to wait until termination.

What to Do if You Think This Is Happening to You

• Document every instance you feel you're working off the clock: the date, the time, and how long it took.
• Watch for this in more than one place: badge-in lines before a shift, bag checks after a shift, or waiting for a shared time clock when a full shift arrives at once.
• Raise the issue with management and let them know you don't feel you're being paid for all your time on the clock. Having it documented helps later.
• You can raise this while you're still employed or after you've left. It doesn't have to wait until you're terminated.
• If you're not comfortable raising it directly with your employer, talk to a wage-and-hour attorney.

Talk to Us About Unpaid Off-the-Clock Time

Retailers have leaned harder into loss-prevention policies in recent years, following a wave of publicized retail theft. More bag checks and security screenings have followed and so has more unpaid time employees aren't being told about.

If you've waited unpaid for a bag check, security screening, or time clock after your shift, you may be owed wages for that time, and our team can help.

Call (619) 848-3368 or contact us online. Our attorneys have recovered millions for clients in cases involving wage and hour violations and are available to discuss your situation and options.

About Jean-Claude Lapuyade

Jean-Claude Lapuyade is Managing Partner at JCL Law Firm, APC, where his litigation practice focuses on wage and hour class actions, including off-the-clock work, unpaid overtime, and meal and rest break violations, along with misclassification and wrongful termination claims. Since 2007, he has helped our firm recover more than $400 million for clients throughout California.