Donning and Doffing Equipment, Off the Clock Labor, and Overtime Under the FLSA
Do you ever find yourself performing work "off the clock" simply because your employer tells you that you must? You are not alone. Off the clock work is as American as apple pie. Fast food restaurants often require managers to perform scheduling and "shift change" activities such as register counts off the clock following the conclusion of a shift. Here's the catch - 10 minutes a day for a year adds up. If you believe that you are performing tasks without compensation, you should contact us for a free screening.
The Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Portal to Portal Act which followed, set limitations on "preliminary or postliminary activities" which are compensable under the FLSA. The Supreme Court has addressed this issue many times, most recently in 2005 in IBP v. Alvarez and Tum v. Barber Foods. In these cases, the Court addressed the question of whether or not "donning and doffing" equipment prior to and after the "principal activity" of an employee's work is compensable time. The Court held that donning and doffing gear that is "integral and indispensable" to employees' work is a "principal activity" under the FLSA, and that the time spent walking to and from the worksite after donning and before doffing, as well as the time spent waiting to doff, are compensable under the FLSA.
More often than not, employees who are required to wear heavy protective gear - HAZMAT employees and production line employees, for instance - are required to punch in after suiting up and getting to work. If you are one of these employees, find a lawyer and advocate for payment of your unpaid wages. If you are working a 40 hour week, the uncompensated "donning and doffing" activities may be compensated at overtime rates.
