On July 23, 2014, a Kentucky federal judge denied a request to provide Amazon.com warehouse workers with more time to join a pending class action lawsuit for unpaid overtime wages. Attorneys representing the employees argued that numerous appeals throughout the case – including one to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this fall – prevented counsel from notifying potential opt-in plaintiffs about the litigation. Given the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s two-year statute of limitations (three-years for a willful violation), valid overtime claims could be time-barred without an extension.
Warehouse workers originally filed the case in 2010 alleging that Amazon.com required them to wait in security checkpoints without compensation. Specifically, the workers were required to clock out for lunch, or at the end of their shift, and then proceed to a security checkpoint prior to leaving the warehouse. Depending on when each employee arrived at the security checkpoint, they could wait anywhere from one to 30 minutes – without pay.
Sommers Schwartz currently represents some 300 current and former Amazon.com warehouse workers across the country. Given the recent court decision, time is running out on the rights of those workers who have not yet joined the class. If you worked for Amazon.com in the past three years, please contact the Employment Litigation attorneys at Sommers Schwartz to preserve your claim for unpaid overtime wages.
Jason J. Thompson
Jason Thompson is a nationally board certified trial attorney and co-chairs Sommers Schwartz’s Complex Litigation Department. He has a formidable breadth of litigation experience, including class action and multidistrict litigation (MDL), and practices nationwide in both state and federal courts.
