Amazon workers get another chance at pay for security screening time

A federal appeals court on Monday revived a class action from three Connecticut Amazon workers seeking backpay for time spent in mandatory security screenings, which they say cost them 50 to 90 minutes weekly. The Second Circuit found a recent Connecticut Supreme Court ruling 'squarely at odds' with Amazon's position, holding that such screening time counts as compensable hours worked under state law with no minimum-time exception.

The case, dismissed in 2023 by Trump-appointed Judge Kari Dooley on the basis of a 2014 Supreme Court precedent, now returns to Connecticut federal court. Amazon's argument that employees themselves prolonged the screenings by carrying personal items was rejected because the company raised it for the first time on appeal.

The ruling applies only to Connecticut workers; federal law still doesn't require compensation for screening time nationwide. Amazon reinstated its metal detectors last year after a pandemic pause and did not respond to a request for comment.

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