Does your employer owe you money?
The dos and don’ts of ‘donning and doffing’

What time does your shift start?

According to companies like Toyota and BMW, you’re on the clock when you take your place at your work station, not while you’re putting on special gear needed for your job.

If you’re a union member, you can negotiate into your contract that you must get paid to put on and take off protective gear if that equipment is indispensable and an integral part of your job. 

It’s not easy. Without that paid coverage in your union contract, you would have to take the company to court yourself to get that coverage.  At both Toyota and BMW, workers have done that.  But Toyota workers say the company hasn’t paid them all their due.

These problems can be dealt with a lot faster, says Toyota worker Jeff Allen, when workers join together for union representation.  Because with a union, shift times, shift premiums,
wages, working conditions and other issues are negotiated into a written
contract for everyone to follow.

And if the employer violates the contract, there are procedures in place to fix the problem – without long and costly lawsuits.

On the job, but not on the clock: According to federal wage and hour laws – which have been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court – your employer is required to pay you for any time needed to put on special protective gear before you start your shift.
 It’s called “doffing and donning” and it’s especially important for paint shop workers like Allen, who has worked at the Georgetown, Ky.,  plant since 1994.

When Allen was transferred from assembly to the paint shop, he learned that paint shop workers have to spend 10 to 20 minutes before and after each shift donning and doffing for their jobs. 

“Sometimes we have to pick up various pieces of equipment like rubber gloves and hoods and switch from steel toe to rubber boots,” says Allen.  “We had to have this done before the start time of 5:15.”  But Allen and his co-workers were not being paid for those tasks. 

Toyota refused to include these activities in the paid work day.  So, Allen and some co-workers filed a class action lawsuit in 1999.  

After years of wrangling with Toyota over the company’s attempts to change legal jurisdiction in the case, Allen and his co-workers have acquired a partial victory.  But the years it took, says Allen, wouldn’t have happened if the workers were UAW members and had the collective power to set things straight.

Back pay at BMW:   More than 1,200 workers at BMW’s plant in Spartanburg, S.C., won a $629,000 settlement in a similar case.

In a related case in 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that workers in a meatpacking plant were entitled to get paid for the time they spent putting on protective clothing before starting their shift – a precedent that would also apply to auto workers.

In 2006, with the law and Supreme Court rulings catching up to them, Toyota offered to pay for eight minutes of donning and doffing each day going back five years.

Given a tight deadline by Toyota and worried the company would continue to drag out the case, about 1,100 Toyota workers decided to accept the settlement even though the amount covers less than half the time the workers spend on donning and doffing.   But others, including Allen, are still fighting for full compensation.  Eight minutes doesn’t cover all the time they spend donning and doffing, they say, and they want back pay from the date they filed the suit in 1999.

Workers win another round: The remaining plaintiffs in the case have been making progress on whether Toyota has to pay donning and doffing back wages to 1999. In August the Kentucky Court of Appeals turned down Toyota’s attempt to stop the workers’ case from proceeding in circuit court, where it was originally filed in 1999.  Toyota wanted the case to be kept within Kentucky administrative jurisdiction, where it hoped for a more favorable outcome for the company.  Company officials reportedly say they will appeal this latest decision.

The Toyota case could have been settled much sooner, says paint shop worker Allen, if the company hadn’t fought for years over legal jurisdiction.  But in two different plants in two different states, auto workers learned an important lesson:  When they stick together and stand up for what’s right, they can force their employers to change.

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Don and Doff FAQs

What is “don and doff?”

“Don and Doff” is the term used for workers who must wear specialized or protective gear before starting their principal work duty. For instance, if you must put on special clothing before you do your main job activity, you “don” it before your shift and “doff” it when your shift ends.

How does this affect my job?

It has long been settled law that the time you spend putting on gear necessary to do your job is paid time. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that the time you spend putting on gear and then getting to your work station also is paid time.

Does this rule apply everywhere?

Yes.  The law which guarantees your right to be paid for all the time you work – including the time needed to doff and don special clothing or equipment required by your employer – is a federal law. In the Toyota case, the federal law was being enforced by the Kentucky Department of Labor.

The U.S. Supreme Court – the highest court in the land – ruled in favor of meat and poultry workers in a similar case. They had to wear specialized safety gear to protect themselves and the public, and the Supreme Court ruled that their employer had to pay them for the time required to put on the special equipment.

The Supreme Court ruling is an important precedent for all workers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Has there been legal action on this at any other companies?

BMW has agreed to pay 1,224 workers a total of $629,000 in overtime back wages for the time it took them to put on (donning) and take off (doffing) protective clothing and gear from April 2003 to March 2006 at the company’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit said the company was guilty of violating federal wage and hour laws.  Workers say BMW initially refused to pay automobile body and paint shop employees for donning and doffing time, as well as time spent walking to and from work stations. According to the DOL, the company’s practice resulted in uncompensated overtime hours.

My employer will not pay me for the time I spend putting on gear and then getting to my work station. What should I do?