Earlier this week, in Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp., the Supreme Court addressed whether unionized workers may be entitled to compensation for time spent putting on and taking off protective gear. The Court found that putting on and taking off protective gear qualifies as "changing clothes" under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and, as such, is not compensable time if it is treated as non-work time by a collective bargaining agreement.

The FLSA provides that time spent changing clothes or washing at the beginning or end of each workday is excluded from compensable time if it is treated as non-work time by a collective bargaining agreement.