Thursday, October 06, 2005 - Posts
Newly sworn in Chief Justice John Roberts heard his first arguments this week, including a case dealing with the FLSA. There is currently a circuit split over whether or not the time spent donning and doffing protective gear is compensable under the FLSA. The 1st Circuit, in Tum v. Barber Foods, 360 F.3d 274 (2004), held that it was not, but the 9th Circuit, in Alvarez v. IBP Inc., 339 F.3d 894 (2003), held that it was. The question hinges in part on whether the activity at issue is "integral and indispensable" to the actual work involved, under the US Supreme Court holding in Steiner v. Mitchell, 350 US 247 (1956). The Chief Justice questioned counsel on the issue's interplay with existing regulations on the compensability of walking between workstations and waiting in lines, as well as the relationship between "integral and indispensable" activities and "primary activities" cited as compensable in federal regulations. Nothing like a little heated debate for your first day on the job.