The Donning and Doffing Rule: Are You Owed Pay for Putting On Work Gear?

In California, time spent putting on and taking off required work gear — uniforms, protective equipment, safety devices — may be compensable work time if the activity is required by the employer and primarily benefits the employer.

When It Applies

Courts look at: whether the gear is integral and indispensable to the principal work activity, whether the employer requires it and controls when and where it is donned and doffed, and whether the time is substantial enough to be counted. Workers in food processing, healthcare, construction, and security are most commonly affected.

Even 10 minutes per day adds up. A worker who spends 10 minutes putting on required safety gear and 10 minutes removing it, five days a week, for three years has spent over 250 hours doing compensable work without pay. At California minimum wage, that’s over $4,000 before overtime calculations.

The California Wage Theft Recovery System gives workers the exact tools and templates to document violations, calculate what they’re owed, and file the right claims. Request your free evaluation here.