Nevada Rejects Federal Portal-to-Portal Pay Exceptions

Legal Update: Amazon.com Services, LLC v. Malloy, 578 P.3d 634, 141 Nev. Adv. Op. 50 (Oct. 30, 2025).

Background

Amazon employee Dwight Malloy brought a proposed class action alleging that workers were not paid for mandatory pre-shift COVID-19 testing. Amazon argued that the testing was noncompensable under the federal Portal-to-Portal Act, which excludes certain travel and preliminary or postliminary activities from federal wage requirements.

A federal court asked the Nevada Supreme Court whether Nevada wage law incorporates those federal exceptions.

The Court’s Decision

The Supreme Court answered no under the version of NRS 608.016 then in effect. That statute generally required payment for each hour worked, while Nevada regulations require payment for time worked at an employer’s direction, including work outside scheduled hours. Nevada law identified only narrow, specific exceptions for certain sleep and meal periods.

Because Nevada had not enacted language resembling the Portal-to-Portal Act’s broader exclusions, the Court concluded that the Legislature had not incorporated them. Although Nevada courts may look to federal wage law for guidance when the statutes parallel one another, materially different state language controls.

Later Legislative Change

After Malloy, the Legislature amended NRS 608.016. The version effective through October 31, 2029, expressly excludes certain time carved out by sections 2 and 4 of the Portal-to-Portal Act and listed FLSA regulations, while still requiring pay for trial or break-in periods and for donning or doffing uniforms or personal protective equipment that employees may not bring or wear from home. Beginning November 1, 2029, the statute again drops the federal-exclusion language.

Readers should therefore treat Malloy as controlling interpretation of the pre-amendment statute and evaluate current claims under the version of NRS 608.016 in force for the relevant pay period.

Scope of the Ruling

The Court answered the certified legal question; it did not finally resolve every issue in Malloy’s underlying class action. Under the statute then before the Court, employers could not rely solely on the federal Portal-to-Portal Act to exclude time from compensation under Nevada law.

Practical Takeaway

Nevada employers and employees should analyze required pre-shift and post-shift activities under the current text of NRS 608.016 and NAC 608.115, not under a general assumption that federal Portal-to-Portal exclusions either always or never apply.

This update is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Legal rights, procedures, and deadlines depend on the facts of each matter.