In United Food & Commercial Workers Union v. Hormel Foods Corp., the Wisconsin Supreme Court held, on March 1, 2016, that Hormel Foods Corporation (“Hormel”) owes hundreds of its workers back pay for time spent putting on and taking off required clothing and equipment—otherwise known as “Donning and Doffing”—at the beginning and end of the day. The United Food & Commercial Workers Union (the “Union”) filed a class action on behalf of a class of current and former employees in Hormel’s plant, alleging that Hormel violated Wisconsin wage and hour laws by failing to pay the employees for time spent at the plant Donning and Doffing. The Union further argued that because the time was not included in the employees’ compensation, the employees were working more than 40 hours per week without being paid overtime.

The court concluded, relying on a similar case involving Tyson Foods, that the employees’ donning and doffing of clothing and equipment for work purposes brought Hormel into compliance with federal food and safety regulations and was integral and indispensable to sanitation and safety in Hormel’s principal work activities, namely food production. Thus, Hormel was required to compensate its employees for the time they spent Donning and Doffing. The court awarded the class monetary damages in excess of $195,000, which consists mostly of unpaid wages for the 5.7 minutes per day spent Donning and Doffing. For additional details on the case, see United Food & Commercial Workers Union, Local 1473 v. Hormel Foods Corp.

As you can see from the Hormel back pay case, it is important for employers to ensure that they are complying with federal and state wage and hour laws, rules, and regulations. The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) and its regulations, and similar state wage and hour laws and regulations, establish minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and youth employment standards for employees. Taking the necessary preventative steps on the front end to ensure you are in compliance with the FLSA and your state wage and hour laws should help you avoid such legal liability like that which resulted in the Hormel case. In a previous article, “FLSA Compliance Audit versus FLSA Position Audit,” we discussed the FLSA in more detail and why it is important for all employers to conduct internal FLSA audits as a preventative measure to avoid noncompliance as illustrated in Hormel.

Nardone Limited has conducted internal FLSA Audits for its clients and has also defended clients against audits conducted by the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor. If you have any questions or concerns on any wage and hour or other employment/ human resource issues, feel free to contact Nardone Limited.