Spoerle v. Kraft Foods Global, Inc.

OPINION AND ORDER

BARBARA B. CRABB, District Judge.

This case presents a straightforward question: does the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219, require defendant Kraft Foods Global, Inc., to pay its employees for time they spend putting on and taking off items of safety and sanitation equipment that defendant’s policies and federal law require the employees to wear?

Plaintiffs contend that they are entitled to compensation because donning and doffing the equipment constitutes “work” under the FLSA. Although defendant does not dispute plaintiffs’ basic characterization, it argues that…