Calif. Starbucks Worker: Those Dribs of Extra Work Add Up

California employers will know by the end of July whether federal standards allowing small nuggets of work time to go unpaid apply to wage lawsuits brought under state labor law. The outcome could end up costing employers millions of dollars in wages and potential fines.

Employers and employee rights’ groups anxiously await a California Supreme Court ruling in a wage-and-hour lawsuit filed by a former Starbucks Corp. assistant store manager against the coffee shop chain. He was paid on an hourly basis, and the case involves the minutes he says he spent each shift performing off-the-clock work.

Employers for years ...