Plaintiffs alleged that because employees were required to boot up/log in and log off/boot down their computer without pay, Customer Service Representatives were not paid all wages due under federal and Nevada wage and hour laws. Plaintiffs also alleged that Defendants improperly rounded time to the quarter hour resulting in failure to pay for all hours actually worked. In addition, because employees weren’t paid for their boot up/log in and log off/boot down time and had time improperly rounded off their time for pay purposes they were also not paid overtime premium compensation of 1 ½ times their regular rate of pay for hours worked over 8 in a workday or over 40 hours in a workweek.
This action was the subject of three appeals to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Two of which resulted in decisions by the Ninth Circuit and one of which was withdrawn when the case settled.
On September 14, 2021, Plaintiffs filled their first appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On October 24, 2022, the Ninth Circuit published its opinion in favor of Plaintiffs, reversing the federal District Court’s decision and clarifying that turning on computers is an integral and indispensable part of Customer Connexx employees’ job duties and is therefore compensable under the FLSA. The case was remanded to the federal District Court for further proceedings.
For further information, view the Ninth Circuit’s opinion here and related news articles here.
Based on the Ninth Circuit’s decision the federal district court reconsidered the competing motions for summary judgment, but again granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants, on May 22, 2023.
On May 25, 2023, Plaintiffs filed their second appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Court also entered judgment on behalf of Defendants and taxed costs against Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs asked the court to retax/reconsider the costs, but the Court denied Plaintiffs request. On April 2, 2024, Plaintiffs filed their third appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal.
On July 11, 2024, the Ninth Circuit published its opinion again reversing the federal District Court’s decision and clarifying their previous decision that turning on computers is an integral and indispensable part of Customer Connexx employees’ job duties and is therefore compensable under the FLSA. The Ninth Circuit also held that there were triable issues of fact regarding whether the time at issue was de minimis and remanded the case back to the District Court.
The Parties entered into a settlement agreement in July 2024. Notices were mailed to Class Members in October 2024, and settlement checks were mailed in April 2025.
If you are an hourly paid employee who is required to log in/boot up and/or boot down/log your computer off the clock, or if your employer rounds time and you have questions about whether you were paid properly, contact Thierman Buck to discuss your rights
Attached: Order
