In IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez, No. 03-1238 (Nov. 8, 2005), the Supreme Court ruled that the time employees spend walking between changing and production areas may be compensable under the FLSA.

Employees must be compensated from the time they start performing their "principal activity" each day. Under the "continuous" workday doctrine, it has been well established that activities which are an "integral and indispensable part" of the principal activity, such as dressing in specialized protective gear before or after a shift, should be treated as part of the principal activity and, therefore, compensable.

In IBP, Inc., the Supreme Court dealt with two related questions: (1) Whether the time spent walking from the changing area to the production area is compensable; and (2) Whether the time spent waiting to begin putting on protective gear is compensable.

IBP, Inc. is a large producer of fresh beef. All production workers had to wear special outer garments, hard hats, safety glasses and other similar equipment. Certain workers were also required to wear additional more specialized protective gear, such as armguards and metal aprons.

Workers’ pay was based on the time spent cutting meat. IBP began paying workers when they cut their first piece of meat. Employees were also paid for four minutes for changing time. IBP employees filed suit to recover compensation for the actual time spent dressing and undressing in the protective gear and for the time walking to and from the changing rooms and the production areas.

The District Court held that the donning and doffing of the specialized protective gear was compensable, compensable time started when the employee began putting on the specialized gear and included the time spent walking to and from the production area. The District Court did not allow recovery for the time spent changing into the ordinary outerwear or hard hats and ruled that compensatory time did not begin for these workers until production started.

The Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision.

IBP did not challenge the ruling that the time spent donning and doffing the specialized gear should be compensable. IBP, however, did challenge the determination that the time spent walking between the locker rooms and productions areas after changing into specialized protective gear was compensable.

The Supreme Court held that the time spent walking too and from the locker room was compensable, because changing into the specialized protective gear was part of the employees’ principal activity.

The Supreme Court then dealt with whether time before the donning of indispensable specialized gear should be compensable. The Court held that, so long as the employer does not require the employees to arrive at a specific time to begin waiting to dress in specialized gear, any preliminary "waiting" time before putting on the first piece of equipment is not compensable.

The IBP decision highlights the need for employers that require employees to dress in specialized gear to implement payroll policies which provide for compensable time to begin when the employees start to dress in the required gear. For some employers additional changes may also be necessary. For example, employers that currently have employees clock in at production areas far removed from locker rooms, may have to relocate time clocks to changing areas to account for the IBP decision.

For more information, contact:

Samuel K. Charnoff
202.857.6221
charnoff.samuel@arentfox.com