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On Tuesday, three lead plaintiffs in an Amazon.com Inc. class action lawsuit alleging wage and hour violations asked a U.S. District Court judge to approve a $3.7 million settlement with SMX LLC, the temporary staffing agency used to fill Amazon warehouse positions.
Lead plaintiffs David C. Saldana, Ladaisja Brewster and Monica Carlin had all worked as packers in Amazon’s San Bernardino, California warehouse facility. They filed the wage and hour class action lawsuit against Amazon and SMX in 2013.
The former workers allege that non-exempt workers at Amazon warehouses classified as “pickers” and “packers” were required to participate in mandatory security searches onsite after they clocked out for meal periods and at the end of their shifts. The plaintiffs allege that each of the mandatory individual security searches resulted in 20 to 30 minutes or more of unpaid work daily.
This time spent unpaid in security screenings allegedly resulted in “a daily underpayment for all time worked, daily interruptions in employee meal and rest periods, failure to provide correctly itemized and accurate wage statements showing all hours actually caused or suffered to work, and a failure to pay all wages owed at separation to separated employees.”
The claims in this class action lawsuit are a part of ongoing multidistrict litigation (MDL) against Amazon and other contractors like SMX who provided staffing or warehouse space for the online retailer. Initially, the class action lawsuits in the MDL alleged violations against the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA) as well as state laws. However, last December, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that time spent participating in security checks was not compensable under FLSA.
Amazon has also attempted to dismiss some of the lawsuits in the MDL, stating that in certain states such as Arizona and Nevada, security screening time was not compensable time under current wage and hour laws.
The proposed settlement Class includes all employees hired by SMX to work at California Amazon warehouses from Oct. 1, 2012 until the present. The $3.7 million settlement will be used to compensate more than 33,000 affected members in the settlement Class, and members will receive either $20 or $30 per shift, depending on the time period when they worked for the company.
“The settlement before this court came only after the case was fully investigated by counsel,” the plaintiffs say in support of the proposed Amazon class action settlement. “This litigation, therefore, has reached the stage where the parties have a clear view of the strengths and weaknesses of their cases sufficient to support the settlement.”
Amazon and SMX have denied any wrongdoing in the settlement and agreed upon a settlement through mediation “to avoid the expense, distraction, and uncertainty of protracted litigation.”
The California plaintiffs are represented by Mark R. Thierman and Joshua D. Buck of Thierman Buck LLP, Isam C. Khoury, Diana M. Khoury and Jason J. Hill of Cohelan Khoury & Singer, David R. Markman of The Markman Law Firm, Christopher J. Hamner of Hamner Law Offices APC and Walter L. Haines of United Employees Law Group PC.
The Amazon Wage and Hour Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Amazon.com Inc. Fulfillment Center Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Wage and Hour Litigation, Case No. 3:14-md-02504, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.
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116 thoughts onAmazon Warehouse Workers Seek $3.8M Wage and Hour Settlement Approval
As of Septmeber 29th 2016, the judge has approved of the settlement amount. Checks will be issued in November.
Also if they do not have your claim form or you did not fill it out on time you will not receive any part of the settlement payment. Thats why you should have filled it out. Individuals are no longer eligible to receive any pay.
Yeah ?
So no one has received an actual settlement check yet, and they are goin to mail them out in November
I’m trying to get information on this case. Is it still pending or has a decision been made?
The final hearing took place on August 15, 2016. The judge allowed for supplemental briefings to be filed within 10 days after the hearing. It does not look like the judge has granted the settlement final approval at this time.
I’m also waiting for any information regarding the settlement, I filled and turned in the forms and have not received anything yet.
When will I receive this settlement check?
When do we get info on any payment?
do we get a check if we fill up paper
I lost my application I need a new one
Hey jeanette its abram
I got the letter in the mail the other day…What if you got converted into an Amazonian(blue badge)? And you claim it? will i get fired? My significant other told me not too do it because they might fire me if I do claim.
On the form you received it states the companies cannot retaliate for your claims, if anything does happen or you notice some type of change in the way your being treated you need to notify them immediate
I worked during peak season in 2015, how do i apply
Same here! How do I apply
If they find you to be amung the affected in this you should be recieving a letter in the mail from amazon with a form to sign as well as info on the case
What happens if you no longer live at that address what should you do
I know because everyone i kno that worked there for 1 and i changed addresses
You can fill in your new address on the form they sent you.
You would need to call this number and let them know you think you are among the affected in the case but recently changed your address 877-645-1926
I did not receive any paper work for the claim how can I obtain it
yes I had received a paper I’m just waiting on the answer
I work at Amazon 2015 as a SMX Employe and I got let go march 2016.am I a part of this class action law suit?
You may be you would need to call to ask if you are or feel you are among the affected 877-645-1926
I worked peak in 2014. I received a letter & file form in the mail.