On April 2, 2019, Steffans Legal, along with Sommers Schwartz PC, filed a class action lawsuit in the Northern District of Ohio on behalf of chemical operators employed by Ashland Global Holdings Inc., including a number of employees working in Freetown, Massachusetts, as well as employees working in Wisconsin, Ohio, Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, Florida, California, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Arkansas, South Carolina, and Illinois.

In that suit, we alleged that Ashland failed to compensate their employees for the time spent putting on (donning) and taking off (doffing) protective equipment, including company-issued safety uniforms, hairnets, hard hats, earplugs, safety glasses, gloves, beard nets and steel-toed boots. We also alleged that Ashland failed to pay overtime at the proper rate by not taking shift differentials into account when calculating overtime rates.

We mediated the case in February 2020 and tentatively reached a $3,900,000 settlement. On September 16, 2020, Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio approved the settlement in its entirety.

Employment lawyer Benjamin Steffans has extensive experience representing employees on an individual and class basis in unpaid wage and unpaid overtime claims. If you have questions about whether your employer should be paying you to put on and take off protective clothing and protective gear call us today for your free consultation.