Pre- and Post-Shift Donning & Doffing: When the Clock Really Starts (and Stops) Under FLSA

Pre-shift and Post-shift Work: Donning and Doffing under the FLSA

Donning and doffing are the acts of putting on and taking off PPE, uniforms and gear that are integral and indispensable to a job. Under the U.S. Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Portal-to-Portal Act, time spent on these activities can be compensable when they are required by law, by the employer, or by the nature of the work. This article consolidates the core rules, common gray areas, and practical controls for compliance—focused on manufacturing, food processing, health care, energy, logistics and public safety settings.

Key legal anchors (plain-English)

Portal-to-Portal Act baseline

The Act excludes pay for preliminary and postliminary activities unless they are tied tightly to the job’s principal activities. The more specialized, sanitary, or hazardous the job, the more likely donning/doffing is compensable.

“Integral and indispensable” test

An activity is integral if it is an intrinsic element of the job and the worker cannot perform their principal duties safely or effectively without it (e.g., cutting-room mesh gloves; sterile gowns in surgery; respirators in chemical plants).

Collective bargaining carve-outs

Union contracts can exclude pay for “changing clothes” at the start or end of the day. But specialized protective equipment often falls outside “clothes,” so the contract language must be read carefully to determine what remains compensable.

What typically counts as paid time

• Required PPE or sanitary gear: hard hats, steel-toe boots (if required to be donned on site), cut-resistant or sterile gloves, hairnets, frocks/aprons, face shields, respirators, radiation badges, fall-protection harnesses.
• Decontamination: washing down or chemical/biological decon that is required before leaving a controlled area.
• On-site waiting tied to the gear: lines to obtain, sanitize, or return required equipment when those steps are part of the process.
• Walking time after the first principal activity: once a first required donning step occurs, walking to the work station is generally compensable; likewise after the last doffing step, walking time ends the workday.

What commonly does not count (with caveats)

• Purely preliminary tasks that are optional or for personal convenience (e.g., changing into ordinary street-type clothing).
• Security screenings at the exit that are not integral to the work performed (context matters; most such time is non-compensable).
• Off-site changing when employees can arrive already dressed and no on-site change is required for safety/sanitation.

Timekeeping architecture that survives audits

Define the “first principal activity”

Map the process step-by-step (locker → PPE issue → wash station → production floor). State in policy which step starts pay and which ends pay. Align clocks (badge readers) to those locations.

Pay codes for short tasks

Use a dedicated “don/doff allowance” or rounded minutes where exact capture is impractical, backed by time-motion studies. Re-validate after layout or process changes.

Walking/waiting handling

Once the first principal activity occurs, subsequent walking/waiting to the station should be paid. Before that point, waiting in the parking lot or voluntary early arrival is not paid.

Industries & examples

• Food processing: frocks, gloves, hairnets, earplugs, wash stations → time is typically compensable from the first required sanitary step.
• Health care: sterile gowns, masks, lead aprons → compensable when required by procedure or sterile protocol; standard scrubs may be non-compensable if off-site changing is allowed.
• Metals/energy/chemicals: respirators, flame-resistant uniforms, metatarsal guards → strong case for compensability; include decontamination after the shift.
• Public safety/logistics: body armor or specialized gear (varia por contrato e política); scanners e check-outs de equipamento exigem análise.

Risk drivers (illustrative chart)

Controls that work (policy + payroll)

1. Write it down: policy naming each required item (PPE/garments), where it is donned, and which step starts/ends the workday.
2. Clock placement: badge readers at or after the first donning point; out-clocks after the final doffing/decon point.
3. Allowance or measured minutes: implement a paid allowance (e.g., 6–12 minutes) per shift based on time-and-motion studies; review yearly.
4. Training & enforcement: supervisors must prevent off-the-clock prep, and employees must not don gear before clock-in.
5. Record retention: keep studies, floor maps, sanitizer/PPE logs and union MOUs for at least the wage-hour retention period.
6. Contract hygiene: if unionized, ensure any “changing clothes” clause precisely defines what is excluded and what remains paid (specialized PPE often stays paid).

Back-pay exposure and damages (overview)

Exposure often stems from systemic minutes per shift multiplied across heads and years. Two years is the usual look-back; three years if willful. Add liquidated damages (often equal to back wages) and attorneys’ fees. Accurate policies and measurable allowances typically reduce both liability and class certification risk.

Conclusão

Donning e doffing são pagas quando fazem parte essencial do trabalho. A conformidade depende de definir início e fim do turno com base no primeiro/último passo obrigatório, capturar caminhadas e filas posteriores e sustentar qualquer alocação de minutos com estudos. Com política clara, relógios bem posicionados, treinamento e documentação, é possível reduzir drasticamente litígios e manter remuneração justa — sem surpresas em auditorias de folha.