Recent Developments in Employment Law

Originally published December 2005

On September 8, 2005, the United States Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision involving two consolidated cases, held that time employees spend walking between the location where they don and doff their work gear and the location of their first "principal work activity" is compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). In so holding, the Court expanded the definition of "principal work activity" to include activities that are "integral and indispensable" to "principal work activities," such as the employees in these cases donning and doffing safety clothing and equipment to work on production lines. The Court stated that "during a continuous workday, any walking time that occurs after the beginning of the employee's first principal activity and before the end of the employee's last principal activity is ... covered by