When does the workday begin and end for a remote worker?

With the rise of remote work, wage and hour laws have forced employers to grapple with what should be a straightforward question: When does a remote employee's workday actually begin and end?

In Lott v. Recker Consulting, the Southern District of Ohio offered a clear answer.

Kiara Lott and 130 of her fellow Patient Care Associates worked from home as call-center reps. Their day started with the familiar remote routine: coffee, logging in, Duo security, VPN, ADP timekeeping, Microsoft Teams, and then opening the phone system and workflow tools to handle patient calls.

They sued under the FLSA, claiming they weren't paid for the minutes spent booting up, logging in, authenticating, and later shutting down. The employer countered that all of that was non-compensable "preliminary" or "postliminary" time.

WIRTW #772: the 'drooly zerberts' edition

On this week's episode of The Norah and Dad Show, I check in with Norah as she kicks off her sophomore year of college. We talk about her experiences pledging a sorority, balancing two jobs, navigating classes, and how the dorm food is holding up.

It's a fun conversation about growth, responsibility, and finding your footing in year two of college life.

Below is a quick clip to whet your appetite.

You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, Overcast, on our website, or through your favorite podcast app. And if you enjoy it, please like, review, and subscribe—it really helps us grow!

---

Here's what I read this week that you should read, too.

'Come on you Gunners!' as pretext for discrimination?

My family are Gooners. For the uninitiated, that means we're Arsenal Football Club supporters. My 17-year-old son is the most passionate of the lot.

On a recent layover in an airport lounge, Donovan was wearing his Arsenal kit when a man walked by, pointed at the crest, and with a British accent said: "Oy, you got some dirt on your chest."

It took Donovan a minute to process. And then, barely missing a beat, he got up, walked over to the man, and asked, "Are you a Spurs fan?" ("Spurs," short for Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal's North London neighbor and most despised rival.)

The man replied, "I am."

To which Donovan, at the top of his lungs, yelled: "PISS OFF!"

Then he turned and walked back to our table, leaving the man chuckling with his family.

Can we still trust the EEOC to enforce our anti-discrimination laws?

The EEOC exists to combat workplace discrimination. Employers depend on it for guidance, employees depend on it for protection, and its credibility is what makes civil rights law meaningful in the workplace.

That's why the recent allegations against the agency itself are so concerning.

Marc Seawright, a transgender man and the EEOC's former Director of Information Governance and Strategy, alleges in his recently filed EEOC charge that the agency instructed him to scrub every mention of LGBTQ+ identities from its outreach materials. The agency created these materials to help employers understand their obligations under Title VII as defined by the Supreme Court in the Bostock case. According to Seawright, his expertise is now being "leveraged to perpetuate discrimination against people like me."

SCOTUS just green-lit racial profiling. This is bad. Really, really bad.

The Supreme Court just gave ICE the constitutional thumbs-up to profile people based on race, national origin, language, job, or where they happen to be.

A lower court had blocked ICE from detaining people by relying on appearance, accent, or occupation as a proxy for immigration status. On appeal, the Supreme Court, through a shadow-docket order, lifted that injunction. In plain English, ICE can once again use these factors to decide whom to stop, question, and detain.

What would you do if ICE showed up at your door?

Last Thursday, nearly 500 federal, state, and local officers descended on Hyundai's under-construction EV battery plant. By the end of the day, 475 workers—most of them Korean nationals—were in custody.

The raid was massive: roadblocks, a boat fishing people out of a sewage pond, workers hiding in air ducts. Agents asked every worker for identifying information before clearing some to leave and detaining the rest. It was the largest single-site enforcement action in Homeland Security history.

Hyundai has said that some arrested were not its direct employees but contractors or subcontractors. Still, construction of the $5.5 billion facility is now halted. South Korea dispatched diplomats. Lawsuits will almost certainly follow.

WIRTW #771: the 'americana' edition

Should out to the best band in the land, Old 97's. On Wednesday they will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2025 Americana Awards & Honors in Nashville. This honor is so well earned. They are an alt-Americana pioneer who have been making great music with the same lineup since 1994. In my humble opinion, this is also long overdue. 

---

Here's what I read this week that you should read, too.