Amazon workers in four states sue over unpaid security waits

Unfair labor practice of forcing workers to wait in security lines without pay is common for retail giant

Published September 19, 2013 2:26PM (EDT)

  (AP/Scott Sady)
(AP/Scott Sady)

Amazon workers across the country are standing up in growing numbers to the retail giant's practice of forcing distribution plant employees to wait for long periods without pay in security check lines.

Now workers in four states have filed suit against the retail giant, following a proposed class-action suit filed by Amazon warehouse temporary workers in Nevada last year. Workers at distribution centers in Kentucky, Tennessee and Washington state have filed four lawsuits claiming that the forced, lengthy security lines constitute a shorting on pay. HuffPo reported Thursday:

Collectively, the complaints suggest that Amazon's policy of forcing workers to wait in security lines without pay is common practice at its growing number of distribution centers throughout the country. The suits also reveal some of the labor penny-pinching that's enabled the world's largest online retailer to undercut competitors with such fast and cheap shipping.

"We're bringing as many of these cases as we can because we think we're right on the law, and we think these workers are being underpaid," said attorney David Garrison, whose Nashville, Tenn.-based law firm, Barrett Johnston LLC, is representing plaintiffs in three of the suits.


By Natasha Lennard

Natasha Lennard is an assistant news editor at Salon, covering non-electoral politics, general news and rabble-rousing. Follow her on Twitter @natashalennard, email nlennard@salon.com.

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Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Amazon Distribution Centers Labor Labor Rights Retail Security Checks Unpaid Workers