Scheduled Overnight Shifts Not Entitled to Split Shift Pay in California

Employees in California who work overnight shifts beginning on one day and concluding on the next day do not work “split shifts,” where the shifts are not interrupted by unpaid, non-working periods. Securitas Security Services USA, Inc. v. Superior Court (Holland), No. B227950 (Cal. Ct. App. July 7, 2011).

In this case the plaintiffs were security guards who worked night shifts beginning on one day and ending on the next. The plaintiffs filed a class action against the employer alleging that the company failed to pay mandatory split shift time. California law requires employers to pay an additional hour’s pay for workdays where employees work a “split shift”, which is defined  as a work schedule interrupted by non-paid non-working periods established by the employer”. The Court of Appeals found that a work shift beginning on one day and ending on the following workday did not make that shift a “split shift”, and employees working  uninterrupted overnight shifts on consecutive days are not entitled to split-shift pay. This case is helpful to California employers who have employees working day and night shifts.