State court rejects federal standards in ruling that could upend HR policies nationwide
Connecticut just told Amazon it must pay workers for security screening time, breaking with federal law in a ruling that could reshape timekeeping policies.
In a decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court sided with warehouse workers in a dispute that started with metal detectors and ended with a major statement about when employees must be paid.
The case began when three former Amazon fulfillment center employees sued over a practice that might sound familiar to anyone who has worked in retail, warehousing, or manufacturing. At the end of their shifts, workers had to go through security screenings before they could leave the building. Amazon did not pay them for this time.
Javier Del Rio, Colin Meunier, and Aaron Delaroche worked at Amazon facilities in Windsor and North Haven between 2018 and 2021. Like other warehouse employees, they had to pass through metal detectors on their way out. Depending on what they carried, the process could be quick or take several minutes. Workers with nothing on them could walk through express lanes without stopping. Those with keys or wallets in their pockets used divesting tables. Anyone carrying a bag or lunch box had to put it through an X-ray machine.
The screening typically took three minutes or less, though workers testified it occasionally stretched to ten or even twenty minutes when alarms went off and secondary screening was required. Amazon...
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