Migliaccio & Rathod LLP is investigating whether hourly employees at McCormick & Company’s Maryland Manufacturing Center in Belcamp, Maryland were fully paid for all required pre-shift and post-shift work activities.
McCormick currently identifies its Belcamp location as its Maryland Manufacturing Center. Company materials describe the facility as a manufacturing operation involving industrial equipment, conveyors, machinery, electrical systems, and other production functions.
Food manufacturing employees may also be required to comply with sanitation, safety, and production procedures before reaching their assigned workstations or after leaving production areas.
What Workers Report
Workers may report:
- Walking long distances before clocking in or after clocking out;
- Being required to arrive early to reach production, warehouse, maintenance, or sanitation areas;
- Time spent obtaining protective equipment, safety gear, uniforms, or sanitation equipment;
- Time spent putting on, removing, gathering, cleaning, or storing required gear;
- Time spent walking between parking areas, entrances, locker areas, timeclocks, and production areas;
- Time spent complying with required sanitation or food-safety procedures before or after paid time; or
- Not being paid for all required activities performed before or after scheduled shifts.
Why Workers Should Be Concerned
Hourly employees generally must be paid for all compensable work time. At food manufacturing facilities like McCormick’s Maryland Manufacturing Center in Belcamp, required activities involving protective equipment, sanitation procedures, or travel to assigned work areas may be compensable depending on the circumstances.
If employees are required to perform these activities outside their paid shifts, they may be losing wages and overtime compensation.
Potential claims may include:
- Unpaid wages;
- Unpaid overtime;
- Failure to pay for required pre-shift and post-shift activities; and
- Wage-and-hour violations.
Signs You May Be Affected
- You worked at McCormick’s Maryland Manufacturing Center in Belcamp;
- You were required to arrive early or stay after your shift for required activities;
- You spent unpaid time obtaining, putting on, removing, or storing required gear;
- You spent unpaid time walking to or from production, warehouse, maintenance, or sanitation areas;
- You completed required sanitation or safety procedures before clocking in or after clocking out; or
- You were not paid for all time spent performing mandatory work-related activities.
If you have encountered these issues, we would like to hear from you. Please complete the contact form on this page, send us an email at [email protected], or give us a call at (202) 470-3520.