SCOTUS to decide if workers should be paid for time spent in security screenings
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether workers who are required to go through security screenings must be paid for the extra time it takes.
The Supreme Court granted cert Monday, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) and the Seattle Times report. The case was filed by temporary workers employed by Integrity Staffing Solutions who worked at an Amazon.com warehouse.
The security screenings were designed to prevent theft by employees leaving work. Workers say the wait for the screening was sometimes as long as 25 minutes.
The workers contend the screenings are an essential part of their job, and they are entitled to compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Integrity Staffing Solutions takes a contrary position in its cert petition (PDF link from SCOTUSblog), which asserts that a decision allowing the suit “will result in massive retroactive liability for employers.”
The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the suit last year, leading to nationwide class actions against employers such as Apple and CVS, the cert petition says. The case is Integrity Staffing Solutions v. Busk.
