California’s Small Businesses Request Fair Timekeeping Standard | NFIB

Camp v. Home Depot concerns the lawfulness of neutral timekeeping

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Oct. 25, 2023) – NFIB joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in filing an amicus brief in the case Delmer Camp v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. at the Supreme Court of California. The case questions whether neutral time-rounding is a fair means of calculating California employees’ time worked, and subsequently their wages. Neutral timekeeping policies are permitted under federal law and the laws of nearly every state.

“Neutral time-rounding has for decades been considered not only the standard policy for timekeeping, but also a fair and beneficial system for employers and workers alike,” said Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center. “Requiring employers to count employee time to the second would place a disproportionate burden on California’s small businesses, many of whom use manual timecards and calculate payroll without the assistance of a service or accountant. With their limited time and resources, this inconsistent standard could be devastating to many small business owners. NFIB urges the Court to reverse the lower court’s decision.”

The brief argues two main points: 1) Federal law permits, and California precedent has upheld, neutral time rounding so long as time is rounded both up and down to reflect an average of time worked, and 2) Upending this standard would impose substantial costs on the hundreds of thousands of small businesses in California with little evidence that employees would benefit from the Plaintiff’s proposed rule.

A 2017 NFIB small business poll found that over half of small businesses process their payroll in-house. NFIB’s 2021 tax survey likewise found that 53% of small business employers did not use a third-party payroll provider.

The NFIB Small Business Legal Center protects the rights of small business owners in the nation’s courts. NFIB is currently active in more than 40 cases in federal and state courts across the country and in the U.S. Supreme Court.