Skilled trades
Emergency leak detection technicians: standby pay
The short answer
Leak detection work is driven by insurance carriers and property managers who call the moment water appears, so techs are held on standby with tight response promises — and that standby is compensable when the restrictions block personal use of the time under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17. California pays for time under the employer's control regardless of how the wait feels: Mendiola v. CPS Security Solutions, 60 Cal. 4th 833 (2015).
The standby arrangement
Technicians keep acoustic and thermal equipment in a vehicle, monitor a dispatch queue, and are expected to accept assignments as they arrive. Where declining is not an option and the response deadline is short, the waiting is work under 29 C.F.R. § 785.17 and Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134 (1944).
Short intervals between jobs
Gaps of a few minutes between assignments are paid rest time, not unpaid waiting, under 29 C.F.R. § 785.18, and idle time an employee must spend on premises is hours worked under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15. California requires paid rest periods and pays a premium hour for each day one is denied under Cal. Lab. Code § 226.7.
Recordkeeping and proof
Employers must keep accurate records of hours worked under 29 U.S.C. § 211(c) and 29 C.F.R. § 516.2; if they did not, the burden shifts and workers may estimate hours with representative proof under Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 577 U.S. 442 (2016). Save queue screenshots, dispatch timestamps, and vehicle GPS exports.
Facts that usually decide these cases
- Mandatory acceptance of queued assignments
- Short promised arrival windows
- Unpaid gaps between back-to-back jobs
- Equipment kept in a company vehicle at home
Weighed together under the framework of Owens v. Local No. 169, 971 F.2d 347 (9th Cir. 1992): Geographic restriction — how far you may travel while on call; Response time — how many minutes you have to answer or arrive; Call frequency — how often the phone actually rings; Personal interference — what the rotation stops you from doing; Trade or refusal rights — whether you can hand the shift off.
Frequently asked questions
- Are 20-minute gaps between jobs paid?
- Short breaks of roughly 20 minutes or less are compensable rest periods under 29 C.F.R. § 785.18, and waiting the employer requires on site is hours worked under 29 C.F.R. § 785.15. California adds a premium hour of pay for each workday a required rest period is denied under Cal. Lab. Code § 226.7.
- My employer has no time records for standby. Can I still prove it?
- Yes. The employer bears the recordkeeping duty under 29 U.S.C. § 211(c), and where records are missing, workers may prove hours with representative evidence under Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Bouaphakeo, 577 U.S. 442 (2016).
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