Provided by: Judge Ruth B. Kraft


In the wage/hour world, donning and doffing policies are areas of serious employer exposure. The question, under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state law, is whether employers are required to pay workers for time spent putting on and taking off work clothes and/or protective equipment.

As a general rule, preliminary and postliminary activities are not compensable. Yet, there is always a “but”: the Supreme Court has held that a principal work activity includes integral and indispensable activities. Exchanging street clothes for work attire can be integral and indispensable if necessary to the performance of the principal activity and if performed for the benefit of the employer. Also, if the changing is compensable time, so is the time that it takes to “travel”, meaning to go from the locker room to the work station and “waiting” time, if the worker needs to wait for a changing room to be available.

A collective bargaining agreement can render the donning and doffing time noncompensable. However, please note that this does not mean that the employer and worker can shake hands on an agreement that the time will be unpaid.

Employers frequently and erroneously assume that because changing one’s clothes does not require much effort, it is not work. This is incorrect. If changing clothes is for the benefit of the employer (for example, wearing protective garments, apparel sporting the employer’s logo, or medical garb which is mandated by OSHA, then the time taken to don it is for the employer’s benefit and must be recorded and paid as such.

What if there is a debate as to whether the garment is mandated or optional? For example, hair nets, safety goggles, smocks or plastic sleeves----consider writing a standalone policy or incorporating rules into your employee handbook to clarify whether these are required items.

Finally, is the employee required to change into the garment at work or can he leave home wearing it? If the employee has the option of coming to work in the mandated uniform or garment, then donning and doffing time would not apply. However, think about scrubs worn in an operating room. If the organization’s policy is to prohibit those uniforms from being worn outside the medical facility for fear of contagion, then the employee must be paid for changing time.

Do you think that the time involved is de minimis? Maybe, but know that several important federal class action cases have been brought on this basis. Litigation means attorneys’ fees and involvement in a defense which, even if the employer prevails on the merit, places a serious burden on the company.

Have a question or comment?
Contact Jennifer at Jennifer@Kirschenbaumesq.com or at (516) 747-6700 x. 302.