Amazon has reached a $3 million class action settlement in Pennsylvania over allegedly unpaid wages during the pandemic.
Employees had said they spent time off-the-clock before their shifts in COVID-19 screenings and were not paid for that time as state law requires, according to court documents.
Amazon’s legal team has said that “time spent off the clock was minimal,” especially once company sites adopted temperature screenings via thermal cameras.
A representative for Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.
The class action lawsuit was originally filed in 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Bobby Muniz, an Amazon employee at the company’s Easton fulfillment center.
Muniz argued that the required health screening typically took 10 to 15 minutes before each shift, including the wait in line.
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“Both sides vigorously dispute the amount of time workers spent off the clock as a result of the COVID-19 screenings,” a recent court document indicates.
The case went to mediation in October, and a proposed settlement was granted preliminary court approval earlier this month. A final approval hearing is set for November.
Amazon employees who worked for the company in Pennsylvania before July 19, 2023, and underwent COVID-19 screening are eligible to be part of the class settlement.
Eligible workers don’t need to take any further steps. Those who want to opt out must do so by Oct. 15.
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