Amazon class action alleges company owes remote work expenses from pandemic

Amazon remote work class action overview: 

• Who: Amazon is facing a class action lawsuit over remote work expenses. 
• Why: Amazon workers claim they should have received $50 per month between December 2020 and February 2022 for remote work expenses.
• Where: The Amazon class action was moved to federal court in Washington State.

Amazon is facing a class action lawsuit from workers who believe the company should have paid them an additional $50 per month for working from home between December 2020 to February 2022.

The class claims Amazon stole wages by leading workers to incur home office expenses including telephone and internet costs that they were not reimbursed for.

The Amazon class action was filed in King County Superior Court in Seattle before Amazon requested to have it moved to federal court.

“During the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and while defendant’s offices located in Seattle were closed until February 2022, plaintiff worked remotely from his home address in Seattle, Washington and incurred necessary business expenses in direct consequence of the discharge of his duties for defendant for which he was not reimbursed,” the Amazon class action says.

Amazon has 40K Seattle-based employees who worked from home

Lead Plaintiff Zachary Hooper was a Senior Project Manager between June 29, 2020, to November 3, 2023, and worked from home for long periods during that time.

There are 40,000 Amazon employees in Seattle who had a similar experience, the Amazon class action says.

“Defendant closed their Seattle, Washington, offices and sent home their office-based employees during the class period without affirmatively reimbursing them for a reasonable portion of their monthly home internet and cell phone (or home phone) expenses,” the Amazon remote work lawsuit says.

Amazon reached a settlement with plaintiff Teresa Lites in a class action lawsuit claiming the company sent out improper notices to continue health care through the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) program.

Were you asked to work from home without compensation during the COVID-19 pandemic? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Craig J. Ackermann, Brian Denlinger and Avi Kreitenberg of Ackermann and Tilajef, P.C. The defendant is represented by Andrew E. Moriarty, Kyle D. Nelson and Shannon McDermott of Perkins Coie LLP.

The Amazon remote work class action lawsuit is Hooper v. Amazon.com Services LLC, et al., Case No. 2:24-cv-00056, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle.

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