A? ?group?? of?? steelworkers? ?brought? ?an? ?FLSA collective ?action ?seeking ?pay? for ?the ?time ?they spend putting on and taking off protective gear in the locker room and for walking to and from the locker room to their work stations.? ?The union collective bargaining agreement did not provide for such payments.? ?The district court granted the employer?s summary judgment motion on the changing clothes issue but denied it on the walking time. ?On appeal, the Seventh Circuit held that the protective ?gear? fell ?within ?an ?exception ?of? the FLSA that applies where a collective bargaining agreement or custom did not provide for compensation for changing clothes.?? The Seventh Circuit specifically disagreed with Alvarez v. IBP Inc., 339 F.3d 894 (9th? Cir. 2003), aff?d on other grounds, 546 U.S. 21 (2005).?? Judge Posner then ruled that because the ?changing clothes? was not compensable work time, the work day didn?t begin until the employees arrived at their work site and the walking time was also non-compensable. ?The Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Sandler v. United States Steel Corp., 133 S. Ct. 1240 (2/19/2013).