Ibp, Inc. v. Gabriel Alvarez, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, et al. (546 U.S. 21)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided November 8, 2005 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 546 U.S. 21 · 126 S. Ct. 514
- Decided
- November 8, 2005
- Term
- October Term 2005
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Unions
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. These consolidated cases raise questions concerning the coverage of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), as amended by the Portal-to-Portal Act of 1947, with respect to activities of employees who must don protective clothing on the employer’s premises before they engage in the productive labor for which they are primarily hired. The principal question, which is presented in both cases, is whether the time' employees spend walking between the changing area and the production area is compensable under the FLSA. The second question, which is presented only in No. 04-66, is whether the time employees spend waiting to put on the protective gear is compensable under the statute. In No. 03-1238, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit answered “yes” to the first question, 339 F. 3d 894 (2003); in No. 04-66, the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit answered “no” to both questions, 360 F. 3d 274,281 (2004). We granted certiorari to resolve the conflict. 543 U. S. 1144 (2005). I As enacted in 1938, the FLSA, 29 U. S. C. §201 et seq., required employers engaged in the production of goods for commerce to pay their employees a minimum wage of “not less than 25 cents an hour,” § 6(a)(1), 52 Stat. 1062, and prohibited the employment of any person for workweeks in excess of 40 hours after the second year following the…
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