An Indiana sewing manager resigned from her job and then sued her former employer for back pay, charging that she had arrived for her shift every day at least 15 and sometimes 45 minutes early. Whether or not she clocked in on arrival varied, but she claimed she was doing substantial work to prepare for the workday—work for which she hadn’t been paid.

What happened. “Kelly” joined Summit Seating, which makes seats for buses, trucks, and vans, in 2001 as a “cutter’s helper.” By 2004, she’d been promoted to sewing manager, checking and organizing the work of seven or eight people and ensuring they had enough fabric, patterns, tools, and other supplies to work efficiently. Kelly’s shift officially began each day at 5 a.m., and she was nonexempt.

After her resignation, she claimed she had felt she needed to prepare the work area in general and her subordinates’ individual work spaces before 5, so they could begin work at the start of their shift. She described unlocking doors, turning on lights, making coffee for the entire (small) company, reviewing schedules, gathering and distributing work materials, cleaning, checking patterns, or preparing models for production. Many times she had clocked in early; other times she’d noted her start time on her time card.

She took Summit Seating to court, seeking pay for the extra time. A judge in federal district court ruled entirely in Summit’s favor, and Kelly appealed to the 7th Circuit, which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

What the court said. Appellate judges considered whether the work Kelly listed was merely “preliminary” and decided instead that it was “an integral and indispensable part of principal activities.” Next they considered how much time she allegedly spent, concluding that 45 minutes is not “de minimis,” which shouldn’t be more than a few minutes. But then they faced the really crucial question: Did the company’s owners or other managers know that Kelly was working off the clock? No, none of them arrived at work until 7 or 8 a.m., and she had never told them about the work.

Also, judges heard from Kelly’s sister, who still works at Summit and normally arrived with Kelly at the worksite each morning. The sister alleged that the two simply drank coffee and chatted when they arrived early, and that she never saw Kelly work during that time. So judges ruled against Kelly. Kellar v. Summit Seating, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, No. 11-1221 (2011).

Point to remember: This ruling is a victory for employers, but you still must pay employees when they do work overtime and require them to ask permission before they do such work.