Supreme Court Hearing Unpaid Wages Lawsuit

Washington, DC The US Supreme Court has heard arguments in a lawsuit that could have implications for California labor lawsuits. At issue in the lawsuit is whether or not employers must pay employees for time spent going through security checks during and after work. Employees argue that not paying them for that time amounts to unpaid wages and violations of various labor codes. The Supreme Court’s ruling will have an effect on a California labor lawsuit underway against Apple.

The lawsuit before the Supreme Court was filed by workers at a Las Vegas Amazon warehouse. According to the New York Times (10/8/14), the workers allege they are required to spend up to 25 minutes after their shifts waiting to undergo security checks designed to prevent employee theft. In the original lawsuit, the plaintiffs alleged during the search that they were required to remove their wallets, keys and belts, and had to walk through metal detectors at the end of their shift. Additionally, they alleged they spent time during their unpaid breaks going through security clearances.

At least one lower court found that the security screenings were required for the job, making them “integral and indispensible” and therefore, payable time. That court, however, was partially reversing the district court’s dismissal of the lawsuit, after the district court found that time spent going through security was not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Lawyers for the employers, a temporary staffing agency that supplied the employees to Amazon, argued before the Supreme Court that the security checks were not integral to the job and therefore should not be considered paid time. A spokesperson for Amazon said in a statement via email, "Data shows employees walk through post-shift security screening with little or no wait."

In 2013, the Court of Appeals allowed the lawsuit to continue, reversing the District Court’s dismissal regarding end-of-day security clearances, but upholding the dismissal of claims linked to the shorter lunches.

The Amazon lawsuit is Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk, No. 13-433. The employees filed the lawsuit seeking back pay, overtime pay and damages under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Many employees are required to undergo some form of security check at their break time and at the end of their shift. Lawsuits have been filed against other companies also alleging employees should have been paid for the time spent waiting for the security checks. In California, a lawsuit was filed against Apple in 2013, alleging employees should be paid for time spent in security checks.

The Apple lawsuit is Amanda Frlekin et al v. Apple Inc, 3:13-cv-03451-EDL. The defendants in that case filed a motion to have the judges issue a summary judgment dismissing the lawsuit, but the judges denied the motion. The court did, however, stay the lawsuit until the Supreme Court’s ruling in Busk is issued but noted that discovery should continue because California labor laws may still allow some of the claims to survive the Supreme Court’s ruling, even if the Supreme Court finds against the employees in the Busk lawsuit.

(Edited to add a statement from Amazon.)


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