Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE, 6/21/11

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will wait until final publication of a rule before it begins requiring processors to pay for inspectors’ donning and doffing time.

The agency issued a notice last week cancelling a previous notice that provided interim instructions to inspectors for calculating donning and doffing time (See “Processors to pay for inspectors’ donning and doffing time” on Meatingplace, June 13, 2011). Under that notice, FSIS would have paid inspectors overtime for donning and doffing time until the final rule took effect.

The final rule provides that meat and poultry processors will have to pay overtime charges beginning July 11.

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