In a decision given on November 8 in the cases IBP v. Alvarez and Tum v. Barber Foods, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the time spent walking between the place where workers in meat and poultry processing plants put on and take off protective equipment and the place where they process the meat is "integral and indispensable" to their work and is therefore a "principal activity" under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Consequently, under the continuous workday rule, the time spent walking to and from the production floor after putting on or before removing protective equipment is also worktime.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) was welcomed the decision as the "culmination of this Administration's initiative to compel poultry processors to pay their workers for all hours worked". The DOL will now use the decision to compel other affected companies to follow the decision.

...back to 10 November 2005

Further information:
OPA News Release: Statement of U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao On Supreme Court Decision in Poultry Worker Case
IBP, Inc. v. Alvarez

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