By Brent Kendall
WASHINGTON--The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Amazon.com
Inc. warehouse workers weren't entitled to pay for the time they
spent being screened for theft at the end of their work shifts.
The court, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas,
said the workers couldn't proceed with a lawsuit seeking wages for
the security checks because the time they spent waiting to be
screened wasn't an integral and indispensable part of their
jobs.
The high court's ruling reversed a lower court decision that
allowed the workers' case to proceed.
Plaintiffs in the case had sued a staffing agency that supplied
Amazon with temporary workers who fill online orders. Amazon had
been named directly as a defendant in other lawsuits. The workers
alleged they could spend 20 to 25 minutes in unpaid time waiting to
leave their shifts because there weren't enough screeners.
The case raised potentially high stakes for both sides. A lawyer
for the plaintiffs had estimated that hundreds of thousands of
current and former Amazon workers stood to be affected.
Other companies, including Apple Inc., CVS Health Corp., TJX
Cos. and Ross Stores Inc., have faced similar lawsuits.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
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