Isner v. Falkenberg/Gilliam & Associates, Inc., 160 Cal. App. 4th 1393 (2008)
Ron and Sharon Isner were resident employees of Falkenberg — a property management company specializing in managing nonprofit housing for the elderly. Although the Isners were required to remain on the premises and be on call on designated evenings from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m., they were otherwise free to use the on-call time as they wished. In their class action lawsuit, the Isners sought compensation not just for the hours they spent responding to emergencies but for all the hours they were on call and “confined to their apartment or the building office so as to remain within audible range of the telephone and alarm.” The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment in favor of the employer, holding that “employees who are required to reside where they work are entitled to be compensated for time spent performing their assigned duties; they are not entitled to be compensated for time spent simply being available to perform those duties.”