High court to decide whether workers can take clothes off for pay

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court will decide Tuesday whether a Beloit food production plant must pay its union employees for the time it takes them to put on the gear and clothing required for work.

The case stems from a class-action lawsuit filed by 330 union workers at Hormel Corp.’s plant in Beloit.  Workers at the plant are required to wear a uniform, hardhat and other gear such as earplugs.

The workers allege that the clothing and gear must be “donned and doffed,” or put on and removed while they are clocked out, and that some workers end up working more than 40 hours a week because of Hormel’s policies.

It would cost about $500 per employee per year for Hormel to pay for the roughly two minutes it takes to put on and remove the gear, according to Hormel.

Hormel has argued that, based on a previous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, donning and doffing of the clothing was not integral or indispensable to the primary work of employees at the plant, so Hormel does not need to pay them for the time. However, that means the court must overturn the Court of Appeals decision in Weissman v. Tyson Prepared Foods.

The employees have countered that the donning and doffing is integral and indispensable to the employees’ job, as the required gear and clothing are required by state and federal laws governing food production.

The court heard oral arguments in October with Milwaukee attorneys Thomas Krukowski of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudeck SC arguing for Hormel and Mark Sweet of Sweet and Associates LLC on behalf of United Food, the employee’s union.

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to state that the Supreme Court’s opinion will be released on Tuesday. Follow @erikastrebel