Illinois Supreme Court Holds That Preliminary and Postliminary Activities Must Be Paid
On March 19, 2026, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated decision in Lisa Johnson v. Amazon.com Services, LLC , clarifying that nonexempt employees must be compensated for time spent completing pre-shift COVID-19 screenings, and other “preliminary” and “postliminary” activities under the Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL). This marks a significant departure from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which as amended by Section 254 of the Portal-to-Portal Act (PPA), excludes from an employee’s compensable time preliminary and postliminary activities—i.e., activities that occur before or after tasks that are an “integral and indispensable” part of the employee’s principal work. Lisa Johnson, a former Amazon.com Services LLC (Company) employee, filed a putative class action in Illinois state court alleging that the Company violated the FLSA and the IMWL by failing to pay its nonexempt employees overtime arising out of mandatory, pre-shift COVID-19 screenings. Johnson al...