You Have to Pay Employees to Suit Up
Posted on Thursday, June 14, 2007 by Frank RocheA recent ruling in Efrian Rodriguez-Fargas, Alta Gracia Herrera and Marisol Pagan v. Hatfield Quality Meats Inc. found for the plaintiffs and required the company to pay $1.3M in back wages to employees who were required to don protective gear “off the clock.” In an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, writer Michael Matza summarized the case this way:
[A]dvocates…hailed the settlement, which awards back pay to 1,600 employees for time spent putting on and stripping off protective gear, as a quiet victory for the immigrant laborers who dominate meatpacking in Hatfield and nationwide.
Meatpacking isn’t the only industry that requires special safety gear, so HR compensation professionals should be looking at this one and making sure they’re appropriately covered.
