Supreme Court to Decide – U.S. Steel Workers to be Paid for Changing Clothes?

Currently the collective bargaining agreement does not require compensation but workers claim the law provides for the payment even if the bargaining agreement does not. The court will decide what constitutes “changing clothes” under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

What may appear a minor issue to some, will, in fact, set a precedent for workers in a variety of industries who are required to wear safety clothes, including, for example, workers in the food industry.

Lawyers for U.S. Steel claim the changing of clothes is specifically exempted from compensation under the Fair Labors Standards Act. The federal appeals courts reached different conclusions creating legal uncertainty about the issue, prompting the request for intervention by the Supreme Court. The case can be found under Sandifer v. U.S. Corp, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-417 and will be decided in the court’s next term (Oct-June 2014). (Source: Reuters)