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Off the clock work happens when you do your job but do not get paid for the time. It often looks small, like a few minutes closing the store or a quick email at night. Below, we explain what California counts as paid time and how those minutes add up. We also cover what to do if your employer is not paying you for them.
Is Off the Clock Work Legal in California?
Not for non-exempt employees. Under California’s wage orders, such as Wage Order 4, your employer must pay you for all hours worked. That includes time you are under your employer’s control or allowed to work, even if you were not clocked in. In Troester v. Starbucks (2018), the California Supreme Court held that employers cannot skip pay for regular minutes of work off the clock.
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Off the clock work in California is any work you do that your employer does not record or pay. The test is not whether you were clocked in. Under Wage Order 4, section 2(L), hours worked include time you are subject to your employer’s control and all time you are suffered or permitted to work, whether or not your employer required it.
Those are two separate tests, and you only need to meet one. In Frlekin v. Apple (2020), the California Supreme Court confirmed that each phrase is an independent factor that can make time paid. Health care workers are an exception. For them, Wage Order 4 uses a definition based on the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. If you worked and were not paid, you may have a claim for unpaid wages and overtime.
Here is how common situations usually play out:
| Situation | Usually paid time? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Closing tasks after you clock out | Yes | Your employer permits the work (Troester) |
| Waiting for a required bag or security check | Yes | You are under your employer’s control (Frlekin) |
| Working through an unpaid lunch | Yes | An on-duty meal period counts as time worked |
| On-call time at the work site | Yes | You must stay ready to work (DIR) |
| On-call time at home | Depends | Turns on how much your employer restricts you |
| After-hours emails and texts | Often | Counts when your employer knows or should know you are working |
If your situation does not match a row, a free case review can tell you where it lands.
Yes, when they happen regularly. In Troester v. Starbucks, a Starbucks employee had to finish closing tasks after clocking out. The California Supreme Court held that California’s wage laws have not adopted the federal de minimis rule. So an employer that regularly requires minutes of off the clock work must pay for them.
The court did leave one question open. It did not decide whether truly rare or tiny amounts of time could ever be excused. Regular, repeated minutes are a different story, and they add up fast.
Say you earn $20 an hour and work five 8-hour shifts a week. Your manager has you clock out, then spend 10 more minutes closing up each night.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Overtime rate (time after your 8th hour) | $20 x 1.5 | $30 an hour |
| Unpaid time per week | 10 minutes x 5 shifts | 50 minutes |
| Unpaid pay per week | 50/60 of an hour x $30 | $25 |
| Per year (50 working weeks) | $25 x 50 | $1,250 |
| Over 3 years | $1,250 x 3 | $3,750, before interest |
Those minutes are overtime because they fall after your 8th hour of the day. Labor Code section 510 requires 1.5 times your regular rate for work over 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week. Our article on California overtime rules covers how those limits work. The same math applies near the state minimum wage, which is $16.90 an hour in 2026, according to the Department of Industrial Relations.
Those numbers are for one worker. When a whole team follows the same unpaid routine, the total grows quickly. Our Los Angeles unpaid overtime lawyers handle cases like these for workers across the region.
Time spent waiting for and going through a required exit search is paid time. In Frlekin v. Apple, the court reached that result even for bags and phones that workers brought for personal convenience. What mattered was how much control the employer had over workers during the search.
If your employer does not relieve you of all duty during your 30-minute meal period, that break counts as time worked under Wage Order 4, section 11(A). When your employer fails to provide a compliant meal period, section 11(B) requires one extra hour of pay for that workday. The premium applies when your employer fails to provide the break, not when it fully relieves you and you freely choose to keep working. Our article on meal and rest break violations explains this premium in detail.
According to the Labor Commissioner’s guidance on standby time, on-call time at the work site counts as hours worked, even if you only wait. On-call time away from work depends on your employer’s restrictions. The same guidance treats travel as paid time when your employer requires you to meet at a set place and ride its transportation to the job site.
Hours worked include time you are suffered or permitted to work, whether or not your employer required it. The key question is what your employer knew. Under Brinker Restaurant Corp. v. Superior Court (2012), an employer is liable for off the clock work it knew or should have known about. A manager who texts you at 9 p.m. and gets a reply usually knows. Short, frequent tasks like these are the regular minutes the court addressed in Troester.
Employers rarely say “we will not pay you.” They give a reason that sounds fair. Here is how California law answers the most common ones:
| What your employer says | What California law says |
|---|---|
| “You never got approval for that time.” | Hours worked include work you are permitted to do, “whether or not required.” If your employer knew or should have known, it must pay. |
| “You agreed to stay late for free.” | Labor Code section 1194 applies “notwithstanding any agreement to work for a lesser wage.” |
| “It is only a few minutes.” | Regular minutes must be paid under Troester. |
| “You are on salary.” | A salary alone does not make you exempt. You must also meet a duties test and a minimum salary. |
| “We have no record of that time.” | Your employer must keep time records. If it did not, your reasonable estimate can be enough. |
Pressure to “donate” a few minutes here and there is a common pattern our Los Angeles wage theft attorneys see. It rarely looks like theft to the worker at first.
On the salary point, Wage Order 4, section 1(A) requires your employer to show you meet a duties test and earn at least twice the state minimum wage for full-time work. That works out to $70,304 a year in 2026, according to the DIR. Our article on hourly vs. salary rights in California walks through the difference.
Yes, you can still prove off the clock work without perfect records. When an employer fails to keep the time records the law requires, the consequences fall on the employer, not you. Under Hernandez v. Mendoza (1988), a reasonable estimate can meet your burden. Your employer must then prove the exact hours or show your estimate is unreasonable.
California’s civil jury instructions reflect the same rule in CACI No. 2703. Evidence that often helps fill the gap includes:
No. Labor Code section 98.6 protects employees who complain, orally or in writing, about unpaid wages. It also protects workers who file or threaten to file a wage claim. If your employer cut your hours, wrote you up, or fired you after you raised unpaid time, that may be illegal retaliation.
According to the California Labor Commissioner, you generally have three years to bring a claim for unpaid minimum wage, overtime, or meal and rest breaks. The window looks back from the date you act, so older unpaid time can fall outside it as months pass. Other claims, such as retaliation, can have shorter limits.
Treat this as general guidance, not your exact deadline, and have a lawyer confirm yours. Our article on how long you have to file a wage claim goes deeper.
Consider talking to a lawyer if:
At Abramson Labor Group, we represent California employees in unpaid overtime and wage cases, and we never represent employers. We hold a 4.5-star rating across more than 1,900 Google reviews (as of September 2026). Zev Abramson founded the firm in 2015. From our Burbank office, we serve workers across California in English and Spanish.
Our case reviews are free and confidential, and we work on contingency. Request your free case evaluation or call us at (213) 493-6300.
No, if you are non-exempt. Work after you clock out is still hours worked when your employer controls you or knowingly permits the work. Your employer must pay for it at your regular rate, or at the overtime rate when it pushes you past 8 hours a day or 40 a week.
Yes. Unpaid minutes are still hours worked, so they count toward the 8-hour daily and 40-hour weekly overtime limits in Labor Code section 510. Many off the clock minutes happen at the end of a full shift, so they are often owed at 1.5 times your rate.
Truly exempt employees are not owed overtime. But a salary alone does not make you exempt. You must also meet a duties test and earn at least $70,304 a year in 2026. If you fall short of either test, you may be owed pay for extra hours.
This article is general information about California law, not legal advice. Every situation is different. For advice about your specific case, talk to a licensed California employment attorney.
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