45 Minutes a Day, Three Years of Back Pay: A Miner’s Guide to Wage Recovery

Your legal right to be paid for every minute on the job.

For miners and manual laborers, every minute on the clock matters. But what about the time you spend preparing for your shift—putting on and taking off your personal protective equipment (PPE)? Many employers fail to pay for this time, even though it’s legally required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Those 10, 15, or even 45 minutes a day might seem small, but over three years, they can add up to thousands in unpaid wages. If this sounds familiar, you may be entitled to recover back pay—and even double damages.

The FLSA considers time spent on activities that are “integral and indispensable” to your work as compensable. For miners, putting on safety helmets, boots, gloves, respirators, and other PPE is essential to perform the job safely. If your employer requires this preparation but doesn’t pay for it, they’re breaking the law. Over time, those unpaid minutes add up: 45 minutes per day equals nearly four hours a week. Over three years, this amounts to more than 600 hours of unpaid work.

To identify whether you’re owed wages, start by tracking how long it takes to don and doff your PPE each shift. Multiply that time by your hourly wage and then calculate the total over the last three years—the maximum period for recovering back pay. For example, if you earn $20 per hour and spend 45 minutes a day on unpaid work, you could be owed over $14,000 in back pay. And under the FLSA, you may be eligible to recover double that amount as liquidated damages.

If you suspect you’ve been shortchanged, don’t wait to act. Wage theft is more common than many workers realize, but you have legal options. With proper documentation and the right legal representation, you can recover the compensation you’ve earned.

Don’t let your hard work go unpaid. Contact Kennedy Law Firm today for a free case review.