portal-to-portal pay

[ pawr-tl-tuh-pawr-tl, pohr-tl-tuh-pohr-tl ]

noun

1. payment, as to a miner or factory worker, that includes compensation for time spent on the employer's premises in preparation for a work shift, in travel from the entrance to the assigned work area and back, etc.:

   Because workers must change their clothes and pick up tools prior to the work shift, they are demanding portal-to-portal pay.

Word History and Origins

Origin of portal-to-portal pay¹

An Americanism dating back to 1940–45