Getting dressed for work is so much easier when you can do it at home and get your workday started immediately when you arrive. Unfortunately, not all jobs allow this convenience due to the safety of the employee and the company. In these cases, donning and doffing is often a daily practice.
Donning & Doffing Definition
Donning is the act of changing into work clothes or gear, while doffing refers to changing out of work clothes and/or equipment. In many situations donning and doffing can be a lengthy and time-consuming process. With an extra hour tacked on to your day because you’re required to put on and take off gear that your job mandates stay on the premises, shouldn’t you be compensated for that time? If you said, “yes,” California law agrees with you.
Donning and doffing is a work-related action that usually occurs before and after a shift, and should be compensated as such. It extends an employee’s workday and intrudes into their personal time off the clock. If you are asked to engage in this often lengthy process, The Carter Law Firm would like to help you retrieve the compensation you deserve. These wages might include unpaid overtime.
Donning & Doffing Under California Law
While most employers don’t consider donning and doffing to be a work-related act, California Wage and Labor laws see it differently depending on the worker’s duties. All employees should be compensated for the time they spend doing activities that are essential to work being completed. So if your company is saying that you need to come in before and after your shift and change into and out of these clothes because it’s important for the work you’re doing, we’d say you have a case. And when it’s an everyday ordeal that adds time to your 40-hour workweek, overtime is most likely on the table.
Donning and Doffing Case Study
In a 2012 settlement, The Hilton Los Angeles Airport Hotel paid $2.5 million to its hotel employees, who filed a lawsuit that alleged that the hotel violated applicable wage and hour laws. In those allegations, employees also expressed that they weren’t compensated for the time it took to put on and take off uniforms that were required to remain at the hotel.
Allow us to help you receive the fair treatment you deserve.