Can my employer not pay me to put on and take off my protective gear?

No.

In Tyson Foods Inc, v. Bouaphakeo, the Supreme Court affirmed a 2.9 million dollars’ jury verdict in favor of workers at Tyson Food pork processing plant.

The workers proved that they spent between 15 and 20 minutes putting on protective gears and that this time was integral and indispensable to their hazardous work. The legal issue before the Supreme Court was whether or not a statistical sample of their daily routines was sufficient to prove how much over 3,344 employees worked. The Supreme Court ruled over the employer objection that statistical sample can be used to prove the claims of a class under federal and state laws.

This is a great victory for employees who otherwise would have no way to prove their claims other than to come forward one by one and testify. It paves the way for class-actions using statistical samples to prove the claim of the class.