Troester v. Starbucks Corp.

387 F. Supp. 3d 1019
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedApril 17, 2019
DocketCase No.: CV 12-07677-CJC(PJWx)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 387 F. Supp. 3d 1019 (Troester v. Starbucks Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Troester v. Starbucks Corp., 387 F. Supp. 3d 1019 (C.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

CORMAC J. CARNEY, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Douglas Troester brings this putative wage-and-hour class action against Defendant Starbucks Corporation ("Starbucks"), alleging claims for (1) failure to pay minimum and overtime wages, (2) failure to provide accurate written wage statements, (3) failure to timely pay all final wages, and (4) unfair competition. (Dkt. 1-1 [Complaint, hereinafter "Compl."].) Troester alleges that Starbucks required its employees to perform certain tasks after clocking out and that Starbucks did not compensate its employees for these tasks. (Id. ¶ 10.)

On March 7, 2014, Judge Gary Feess granted Starbucks summary judgment on all claims, holding the time Troester spent in and around the store after clocking out was not recoverable because it was "de minimis." (Dkt. 37.) Troester appealed, and *1022the Ninth Circuit certified a question to the California Supreme Court, asking whether the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's de minimis doctrine applied to claims for unpaid wages under California Labor Code sections 510, 1194, and 1197. Troester v. Starbucks Corp. , 680 F. App'x 511, 512 (9th Cir. 2016). The California Supreme Court held that "the relevant California statutes and wage order have not incorporated the de minimis doctrine found in the [Fair Labor Standards Act] .... [and] do not allow employers to require employees to routinely work for minutes off the clock without compensation." Troester v. Starbucks Corp. , 5 Cal. 5th 829, 848, 235 Cal.Rptr.3d 820, 421 P.3d 1114 (2018), as modified on denial of reh'g (Aug. 29, 2018). It further concluded that "although California has a de minimis rule that is a background principle of state law, the rule is not applicable to the regularly reoccurring activities that are principally at issue here." Id.

In light of the California Supreme Court's answer to the certified question, the Ninth Circuit reversed and remanded the case to this Court for further proceedings. Before the Court is Starbucks's motion for summary judgment. (Dkt. 59 [hereinafter "Mot."].) For the following reasons, the motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART .1

II. BACKGROUND

In February 2008, Starbucks hired Troester to work as a barista in one of its coffee shops. (Dkt. 64-4 [Defendant's Reply Separate Statement of Undisputed Facts, hereinafter "DUF"] 1-2.) Starbucks promoted Troester to shift supervisor in June 2008. (DUF 2.) During his employment, Troester worked at multiple Starbucks locations, including stores at Hollywood Way, Enterprise Landing, and Lankershim and Magnolia. (Dkt. 64-4 [Defendant's Reply to Plaintiff's Additional Separate Statement of Undisputed Facts, hereinafter "PUF"] 2.) In January 2011, Troester stopped working for Starbucks. (DUF 1.)

While employed by Starbucks, Troester recorded his work time and clocked in and out using Starbucks's point-of-sale ("POS") system. (DUF 5.) Troester admits Starbucks always paid him for all the time he recorded in the POS system. (DUF 6.) Troester also recorded time in the punch communication log. Troester used the punch communication log to capture time spent on tasks such as running errands for the store before clocking in, assisting a customer in the store lobby while not clocked in, and talking to the store manager about "official business" while not clocked in. (DUF 8.) Troester used the punch communication log multiple times to record time spent on tasks performed after clocking out, such as picking up product for the store. (DUF 40.) Troester also used the punch communication log multiple times to correct wrong time punches. (DUF 41.) Troester admits that Starbucks always paid him for the time he recorded in the punch communication log. (DUF 9.)

At issue in this case is the time that Troester allegedly worked off the clock on certain closing shifts while he was a shift supervisor. Troester claims that he performed unpaid work during shifts at the end of the business day. (DUF 11.) Troester asserts that Starbucks trained its employees to clock out before performing certain closing tasks. (PUF 19.) Based on the *1023software used by Starbucks, Troester had to clock out before using the store computer to transmit sales data to Starbucks headquarters. (DUF 13.) To send data to Starbucks headquarters, Troester selected "close computer" with the computer's mouse or keyboard, entered a password, and pressed the "Y" key. (DUF 14.) Troester then set the store alarm by typing a numeric code on the alarm panel located near the computer. (DUF 15.) The store's alarm system required employees leave the store within sixty seconds of setting the alarm. (DUF 22.) After activating the alarm, Troester exited and locked the front door. (DUF 23.) He then walked coworkers to their vehicles. (DUF 26.)

In total, Troester contends he spent about four to ten minutes performing these tasks. Troester claims that it took him approximately "one minute to two minutes" to send the sales data and activate the alarm after clocking out. (DUF 17.) A comparison of the store's alarm records to Troester's time records indicates that Troester activated the alarm, on average, within one minute of clocking out. (DUF 19.) The comparison also indicates that Troester activated the alarm within two minutes of clocking out on more than 90 percent of his shifts. (DUF 20.) In total, Troester estimates that, from December 2008 to October 2010, he was not paid wages for the approximately 12 hours and 50 minutes of time spent between clocking out and activating the alarm. (PUF 34.) Troester also estimates that it took thirty seconds to walk out of the store after activating the alarm and that it took around fifteen seconds to lock the door. (DUF 24-25.) Troester estimates walking his coworkers to their cars took thirty-five to forty-five seconds. (DUF 27.) Troester contends he should be paid for the time he spent sending sales data to headquarters, setting the alarm, walking out of the store, locking the door, and walking coworkers to their cars.

Troester also claims that he performed certain tasks off the clock on a less frequent basis. Troester contends that every "couple of months," after clocking out and exiting the store, he brought the store's patio furniture inside the store after he and the other employees forgot to bring the patio furniture in while still on the clock. (DUF 29.) He also asserts that two or three times a month, after clocking out and exiting the store, he stayed outside the store with a coworker who was waiting for a ride. (DUF 31.)

III. LEGAL STANDARD

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Bluebook (online)
387 F. Supp. 3d 1019, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/troester-v-starbucks-corp-cacd-2019.