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Amazon will prevail on time the employee spends waiting to get through security to enter the premise. The reasons is the employee has control and free movement to leave if they want.
Amazon will not prevail over the time it takes to go through security after clocking out because the employee is still under the control of the employer.
I have no idea why Amazon is even fighting against paid time exiting security because I can't think of a single employer control case where an employer won. As a business owner, it's business management 101 that when you have control over an employee and their freedom to leave is restricted or limited, they are "on the clock". Amazon must have some bonehead people in HR and their legal department. They may be opening up a can of worms in all other states where this practice occurs.
Come on, do you really think Amazon has boneheads in their legal department?
A slight delay due to waiting in line does not constitute employer control over the person. Do companies located in high rises have to pay employees for time spent waiting for the elevator when leaving work? What about large corps with sprawling complexes that have traffic lights at the exits?
As for breaks, I'll bet this only applies to employees leaving and re-entering the secured areas.
My warehouse isn't so large so I haven't had to wait at all.
If you go on break or lunch, you don't have to do that. Unless you want, but it can be avoided.
To come to work you don't have to do that. Only to go home, and it can take time... so far not like that.
You have to though. You clock out first then go thru. It kinda sucks, yeah it CAN take time when it gets busier at the holidays, esp if you aren't one of the first ones to the line. There's nothing you can do. You can choose to take breaks inside their break room, but to go home you have to go thru security.
I worked for an Amazon division a few years ago and security checks and "wanding" were performed at random by scowling security guards as employees came out of merchandise areas on their way to breaks, which would cut into their break time. Of course when these employees returned "late" from their breaks, they would be penalized, I don't know if they are still using a point system in that warehouse or not. But it seemed to me that these checks should have been done on Amazon's time, not mine.
There were all sorts of demeaning nightmares at that place, I lasted a whole 4 ten hour shifts before I ran out and never looked back, will NOT work for that company again if I can help it, but I digress.
Workers are treated like prisoners. They better be paid.
I worked at a Vegas casino, we had to have a clear plastic bag, for a purse. I always felt the employer should provide it...they did not. Rip.
Unions worth every dime.
I hate indignities such as this and I will not work anywhere that subjects their employees to it. Too many employers think we have "property of" tattooed on our ass. When UPS told me I had to keep my cell phone locked up, I quit. When Coke headquarters in Atlanta told me I'd have to sign an agreement not to drink Pepsi products, I didn't apply. And if a casino ever made me do what you had to do, I probably woulda told them to take a hike too. But that's just me, a little more rebellious than most. And I've always worked in "right to work" states.
Amazon was truly a horrible experience, and UPS wasn't much better. Federal Express on the other hand was a pleasure to work for.
I hate indignities such as this and I will not work anywhere that subjects their employees to it. Too many employers think we have "property of" tattooed on our ass. When UPS told me I had to keep my cell phone locked up, I quit. When Coke headquarters in Atlanta told me I'd have to sign an agreement not to drink Pepsi products, I didn't apply. And if a casino ever made me do what you had to do, I probably woulda told them to take a hike too. But that's just me, a little more rebellious than most. And I've always worked in "right to work" states.
Amazon was truly a horrible experience, and UPS wasn't much better. Federal Express on the other hand was a pleasure to work for.
I worked for Exxon at a corporate-owned convenience store and they used to send security teams out to search us, go through our purses, have us pull our pockets out, lift up our pants legs, pull down our socks, if you smoked they wanted you to pull every cigarette out of your pack for them to see it, then they would take dogs through our cars. It was ridiculous. We were on the clock for that particular privacy violation though.
In this case,yes. By the way TRW lost a similar case a while ago. We both know TRW had lawyers, too.
Legally, Amazon is not in a strong position here.
This is not even Amazon's first dance on the floor. They lost before and they will lose again. I just don't get it.
Probably the only explaination is they save a ton of money by not paying the workers. Even after being sued, paying legal fees, back pay and fines, they still come out ahead because only a small percentage actually seek legal help to get what they are owed. I bet that for every $1 they pay out due to a lawsuit, they are saving $100 by not paying the rest.
Think airport. Is a concessionaire inside the secured area required to begin paying it's employees when they arrive at the security checkpoint?
No, because the security is not part of the employers requirment being imposed on the employee, it is a requirement of the FAA/TSA. If the employer establishesthe security procedures and the employee is still under the control of the employer while awaiting or undegoing securty screening, they are to be paid for that time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by macroy
If you work in an environment where you need to change clothes (factory, Law Enforcement, etc.), does your shift start before or after you go into the locker room?
If the employer controls the uniform and changing location to the employer's faciity, the employee's paid time is when they enter the facility and proceed to change. The employer is considered to be excercising control over the employee if that employee has no choice but to change at work.
If the employer does not place a restriction on where the person changes into the uniform, (home, work, in their car, out on the street), the employee is not under the control of the company and is not paid for changing at work by their own choice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oceangaia
A slight delay due to waiting in line does not constitute employer control over the person. Do companies located in high rises have to pay employees for time spent waiting for the elevator when leaving work? What about large corps with sprawling complexes that have traffic lights at the exits?
A slight delay as in "incidental" is not the same as procedures and logistics that ineffect, holds a person under the control of a company. Incidential would be if you have to swipe a card to exit the facility or show it to a person even though you clocked out. But thats not the same as waiting in a line for your tuen to be screened.
As for the elevator and stop light, do you really need to scrape the bottom of the logic barrel to find some nonsense to try and make your case?
I worked for Exxon at a corporate-owned convenience store and they used to send security teams out to search us, go through our purses, have us pull our pockets out, lift up our pants legs, pull down our socks, if you smoked they wanted you to pull every cigarette out of your pack for them to see it, then they would take dogs through our cars. It was ridiculous. We were on the clock for that particular privacy violation though.
Good grief!
You can predict how long I would have lasted there. My experience at Amazon was the first and only time I had ever been literally padded down by that clown at the security desk. Federal Express used to wand us, but they were mainly looking for weapons and contraband being brought into the workplace. UPS did neither but the cell phone rule bothered me. Their warehouses are huge, there is no way to leave a number for family to contact you in an emergency, my phone was my connection. And get this, since UPS had a mixed use facility, our work team was fenced off and locked in, seriously, so we couldn't wander around other parts of the warehouse. It was self-contained with a bathroom (that never worked), break room, and a smoking patio. At the beginning and end of the work day, we were "escorted" to this part of the building. It was hard to avoid a trapped "gerbil in a cage" type feeling. So yeah, these facilities put their own workers through indignities many people couldn't possibly imagine. And I think about it every time I order from Amazon.....what poor desperate soul slaved away to pull that order for me in 30 seconds or less? If there was an alternative I'd use it, but I hate RL shopping.
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Did they have to turn their heads and cough?
