MADISON - Employees of Kraft Foods
have been given class action status for their lawsuit seeking pay
for time spent putting on and taking off safety equipment.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb
says current and former hourly employees who worked at the
company's Oscar Mayer meat processing plant in Madison since May
2004 can take part.
Crabb says the group includes at
least 1,000 workers.
The workers claim the company is
breaking the law by refusing to pay them for time spent donning
and doffing equipment like protective boots, hard hats and ear
muffs. Workers must go to the plant's third floor before and after
shifts to do so.
The company argues those activities
do not qualify for pay and is fighting the lawsuit.
