"Off The Clock" Pre and Post Shift Work
Are you paid for pre and/or post shift "off the clock" work?
Employees may be eligible to receive compensation for time spent performing certain duties before and after their scheduled shift. Common examples of such duties includes time spent by:
- Workers putting on (donning) and taking off (doffing) protective or work required gear;
- Employees booting up a computer and logging into work programs;
- Bus drivers inspecting their bus before the start of the shift
- Butchers sharpening knives before the start of their shift;
- Electricians loading their trucks before leaving to perform their routes;
- Filling out time sheets, checking job locations, cleaning and loading trucks, fueling trucks, and picking up plans for the day's work;
- Employees waiting for work after punching in, even though employees could wait in a break break, in their cars, or even depart the premises if work was not available;
- Taxi drivers performing paperwork at the end of their shift;
- Corrections officers picking up keys, body armor, and other equipment.
Donning and Doffing and the FLSA
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, employers are required to pay employees for each workday, starting from time the employee begins their first “principal activity” and ending when the employee completes their last principal activity of the day. Courts have determined that employers must also pay employees for the time spent engaging in preliminary and/or post-shift activities that are an “integral and indispensable part of the principal activities,” including the time spent “donning and doffing” required protective and safety gear.
IBP v. Alvarez, 546 U.S. 21 (2005)
In 1999, production workers in a meat processing plant filed a class action lawsuit against their employer, IBP, Inc., demanding compensation for time spent donning and doffing protective gear, as well as time spent walking back and forth between the changing area and the meat processing area. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the donning and doffing of the workers’ gear was a principal activity itself, since was integral to the workers’ daily activities, and therefore compensable under the FLSA. The Court also held that the time employees spent walking to and from their work area after donning and before doffing was compensable because it was part of the continuous workday.
What can I do if I believe my employer has failed to pay for "off the clock" pre and/or post shift work?
If you believe that your employer is not properly paying you for pre and/or post shift work tasks, or if you would like to learn more about California labor law, please call (866) 981-4800 or fill out the form on the right for a free consultation with a labor and employment attorney.
Important Note: This summary is intended to provide a basic overview of the typical types of employment cases handled by our firm. It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Why Girard Gibbs LLP?
Girard Gibbs is a national litigation firm specializing in securities litigation, consumer class actions and complex business litigation. Girard Gibbs' managing partner Daniel Girard was voted one of Northern California's Super Lawyers in 2007, 2008, and 2009 by Law & Politics, recognizing him as one of the top 5-percent of attorneys practicing in Northern California.


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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EMPLOYMENT & LABOR LAW PRACTICE AT GIRARD GIBBS:
- Employment & Labor Law Overview
- The Fair Labor Standards Act
- California Labor Law
- Overtime Pay Overview
- Overtime and the FLSA
- California Overtime Pay
- Exempt v. Non-Exempt
- Minimum Wage Overview
- Federal Minimum Wage
- California Minimum Wage
- Independent Contractors
- The Federal Warn Act
- The California Warn Act
- The Illinois Warn Act
- The New Jersey Warn Act
- The New York Warn Act
- Wage and Hour
- Off the Clock Work
- Donning and Doffing
- Tipped Employees
- Farmworker Rights
- Breaks and Meal Periods
- Prompt Payment at Termination
- Itemized Pay Stubs
- Employment Discrimination
- California Vacation Law

