Wis. Court Denies Additional Pay for Time Spent Showering, Changing Clothes

MILWAUKEE — A federal judge has awarded summary judgment to a company that allegedly broke federal law by failing to pay foundry workers for changing clothes and/or showering as a precaution against exposure to silica dust. Dekeyser, et al. v. Thyssenkrup Waupaca Inc., No. 08-C-488 (E.D. Wis.).

Judge William C. Griesbach of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin ruled July 19 that the activities at issue were not compensable “principle activities” as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. and § 251, et seq.).

Ryan Dekeyser and other …