This is a collective and class action that seeks to recover unpaid wages for Amazon.com warehouse workers in the state of Washington who had to undergo mandatory security clearances before their lunch breaks and before leaving the warehouse facility.
Because of the security checks, employees allege that they are owed wages for the time it took to undergo the security screenings. You may have a claim for unpaid wages for time spent passing through security at an Amazon.com fulfillment warehouse on your lunch break.
On December 9, 2016, Amazon employees in Washington state were granted class certification allowing the employees’ claims for unpaid wages to move forward in the litigation process. The Court effectively sided with Plaintiffs’ arguments that the security screenings unlawfully cut lunch periods short because employees were required to spend part of their lunch in required security screenings.
All persons who have worked at an Amazon fulfillment warehouse at either the Bellevue or Sumner facilities (whether employed directly by Amazon or by a third-party staffing agency such as Integrity Staffing or SMX) can pursue their meal period claims collectively.
The complaint was filed against Amazon.com, Inc. on September 29, 2015 in the Superior Court of Washington, County of King pursuant to various Washington state wage and hour laws. In November of 2015, the Court consolidated the Mina case with two other cases, Felder et al v. SMX, LLC and AF Operations, LLC, Case No. 14-2-05474-2 SEA and Austin v. SMX, LLC and Amazon.com, Inc., Case No. 14-2-09205-9 SEA. An operative amended Complaint was filed June 21, 2016 to include Amazon Fresh, LLC, AF Operations LLP as Defendants, along with Amazon.com Inc. (collectively “Amazon”). A copy of the Complaint is attached.
Amazon filed a motion with the Court for summary judgment (disposition of some of Plaintiffs’ claims) which was granted in part and denied in part by the Court. The Court held that under Washington law, the employees’ claims that they should be paid for time undergoing screenings for lunch breaks could continue. The Court effectively sided with Plaintiffs’ arguments that the security screenings unlawfully cut lunch periods short because employees were required to spend part of their lunch in required security screenings.
The Court also granted Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification and held that all persons who have worked at an Amazon fulfillment warehouse at either the Bellevue, DuPont, or Sumner facilities (whether employed directly by Amazon or by a third-party staffing agency such as Integrity Staffing or SMX) can pursue their meal period claims collectively. A copy of the Court’s Order is attached. After the Parties engaged in further discovery, including facility site visits, Defendant filed a motion to remove the DuPont facility from the lawsuit, which Plaintiffs did not oppose. Trial is set to begin on September 24, 2018.
What that means is that employees who were required to go through a security check for their lunch break, any time from February 18, 2011 to the present, at Bellvue or Sumner locations may be entitled to unpaid wages.
Settled
The Parties entered into a voluntary and confidential settlement agreement in November 2018 and the case has closed.
