Do Target Workers in New York Have to Be Paid for Pre- and Post-Shift Walking Time?

A recent federal court decision addresses whether New York warehouse workers must be paid for time spent walking inside an employer’s facility before clocking in and after clocking out. In Kratzert et al. v. Target Corporation, No. 1:25-cv-01171 (AMN/DJS), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York held that the walking time alleged by the employees was not compensable under the New York Labor Law (NYLL).

What Did the Target Workers Allege?

The plaintiffs were current and former Target warehouse employees at facilities in Wilton and Amsterdam, New York. According to the court’s September 16, 2026 Memorandum-Decision and Order, the employees alleged that they were not paid for time spent walking between security checkpoints at the warehouse entrances and their assigned work areas before clocking in and after clocking out. The alleged walking time ranged from three or four minutes in each direction for certain shifts to ten or fifteen minutes in each direction per shift.

What Did the Court Decide?

U.S. District Judge Anne M. Nardacci granted Target’s motion to dismiss. The court concluded that New York’s Minimum Wage Order for Miscellaneous Industries and Occupations incorporates the Portal-to-Portal Act’s limitations on compensable time.

Applying those limitations, the court held that New York law did not require Target to compensate the plaintiffs for the walking time alleged in the case. The court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims for unpaid minimum wages and overtime wages, as well as their claims for promised wages and noncompliant wage statements. The amended complaint was dismissed with prejudice and without leave to amend.

What Does the Decision Mean for New York Workers?

The court also noted that it was unaware of controlling authority from the New York Court of Appeals, or any other New York state court, addressing the precise issue. As a federal district court interpreting New York law, the court was required to predict how New York’s highest court would resolve the issue.

The ruling does not mean that every activity performed before clocking in or after clocking out is unpaid. The court distinguished the Target employees’ alleged walking time from circumstances in which employees have already begun compensable work. For example, the court discussed New York Department of Labor guidance involving employees who were required to report to management at a specified time, receive their work assignments, and then proceed to their work locations. The court explained that such circumstances involve compensable time under federal law. By contrast, the Target employees were not yet clocked in during the walking time at issue and did not allege that they were assigned or expected to be ready to perform work during that time.

Whether other pre-shift or post-shift activities are compensable can, therefore, depend on what employees are required to do and when their compensable work activities begin and end.

New York Workers: Contact Kehoe Law Firm

If you work in New York and are required to perform work before clocking in, after clocking out, or during other unpaid time, you are encouraged to send us a message to learn more about your potential legal rights.

For a free, no-obligation legal evaluation:

Michael Yarnoff, Esq.
(215) 792-6676, Ext. 804
[email protected]
[email protected]

About Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.

Kehoe Law Firm, P.C. is a nationally recognized, plaintiff-side class action law firm representing investors, consumers, and employees in matters involving securities fraud, corporate misconduct, mergers and acquisitions, antitrust violations, whistleblower claims, data breaches, consumer fraud, employment law violations, and ERISA and retirement plan litigation. Its attorneys have served as lead or co-lead counsel in major securities cases, recovering more than $10 billion for institutional and individual investors.

Kehoe Law Firm’s class action legal services are provided on a contingency-fee basis, meaning plaintiffs are not responsible for attorneys’ fees or litigation expenses. Any request for attorneys’ fees and expenses will be subject to court approval.

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