In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the Fair Labor Standards Act (commonly referred to as the “FLSA”). The purpose of the Depression era legislation was to protect the individual employee against abusive employers and to ensure a minimum standard of living to the American worker. FLSA guarantees workers a federal minimum wage and overtime pay for employees who work over 40 hours a week.

Expanding FLSA Over the Years

Over the years, FLSA has been expanded to include other areas of employee protections, such as restrictions on employing children, and employee documentation and recordkeeping. In recent months, the US Department of Labor released an “Administrative Interpretation” (AI) to clarify the definition of “clothes” under the FLSA.

The Definition of “Clothing”

Currently, the FLSA excludes time spent “changing clothes or washing” at the start or end of a workday from compensable time, and the vague exemption has led to many lawsuits and conflicting court decisions on what constitutes ‘clothes.’ The AI provides clarity by stating that the time spent changing into or out of protective gear or equipment required by law, the employer, or the nature of the job, is indeed compensable.

The AI further clarifies that even if ‘changing clothes’ does not fall under a compensable activity or time, it may still trigger the ‘continuous workday rule’ if the subsequent activities after changing clothes would be compensable under FLSA, activities such as walking, waiting, or other travel time. Employers should review their compensation policies or practices to reflect this change to remain compliant with the law.

The guidelines covered by the FLSA can be confusing, and costly, if not adhered to. Speak with a CPEhr HR Consultant for an audit of your FLSA practices.

Source:  EPLI Pro News, July 2010