Does My Employer Have to Pay For My Time Donning Safety Gear?

A Plymouth Meeting employment discrimination lawyer can provide guidance to anyone with questions about how they are treated at work. Whether you are concerned about being discriminated against based on your race, gender, religion, national origin, age, or disability, we can help. You also need to understand all of the different rights that apply to you in the workplace, including both the right to be free from discrimination and the right to be paid for all work performed. 

One issue that arises for many workers is whether their employers have to pay for their time donning safety gear. Understanding the rules on this question is very important, as you could be entitled to back pay if your employer was supposed to be paying you but failed to do so.

A Plymouth meeting employment discrimination lawyer can help you to understand the rules so you make sure you are treated fairly in the workplace. Call Curley & Rothman, LLC today to find out more.

Does an Employer Have to Pay for Time Donning Safety Gear?

Employees are supposed to be paid for their time doing work activities. If employers don't pay, workers can take action. A group of employees from Tyson did just that: they filed a class action lawsuit because their employer was not paying for their time putting safety gear on and taking it off. Safety News Alert reported on the lawsuit, which ended up getting all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

When the employees sued, the court ruled that they should be paid for their time donning and doffing safety gear. Since they had not clocked in during the time when they were putting on their equipment and taking it off, an industrial relations expert was consulted in order to determine the amount of back pay that would be required.

The industrial relations expert estimated that workers who worked in the cutting and trimming department spent an average of 18 minutes daily taking their safety gear on and off. For workers who did their jobs in the kill department, they spent an average of 21.5 minutes taking their gear on-and-off. Tyson was thus found to owe back pay to the workers who had filed the class action lawsuit, with the amount of back pay determined by this math.

The case was challenged to higher courts, and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision by the lower court. This established the precedent, which now applies nationwide, which says that an employee has to be paid for his or her time spent putting safety gear on and taking it off. This decision was an important one for workers, because they should not be forced to spend around 20 minutes per day doing the unpaid work of getting ready to do their jobs. If safety gear is needed to do the work, they should be compensated for the time it takes them to put it on and take it off.

What if You Don't Get Paid Wages for Work?

If you face any employment-related problems at all, you should get appropriate legal help. An attorney can provide you with assistance in exploring the legal protections that are available to you to ensure that you are treated fairly in the workplace. Worker protection laws ensure that employees are free from employment discrimination and that they are paid for all of the time spent doing work tasks- and it is up to you to take advantage of these worker protection laws to ensure you have a safe work environment and the money you deserve. An attorney will help you explore the legal remedies you ned to get what you are entitled to.

How can a Plymouth Meeting Employment Discrimination Lawyer Help You?

A Plymouth Meeting employment discrimination lawyer provides invaluable assistance to anyone who believes they are not being treated properly at work. Curley & Rothman, LLC is passionate about fighting for the rights of workers and we will advocate for you to ensure you are treated fairly and protected from unlawful discrimination and other illegal employment behaviors.

Getting back pay for workers who aren't provided with all of their wages is just one of many ways in which we help workers throughout Pennsylvania to ensure they get the workplace benefits that they deserve. To find out more about your rights to full payment for all the time when you are working, download our Free guide to Wages, Overtime and Severance in Pennsylvania. You can also give us a call at 610-834-8819 or contact us today to schedule your consultation and find out how we can assist you in dealing with problematic conditions in your workplace.