SCOTUS Considers Worker Pay For Theft-Screening Time

The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in a case that will determine whether low-wage workers should be paid for time they spend going through security screenings for their jobs. An Arizona company that provides workers for many Amazon warehouses makes its employees go through an anti-theft screening process that takes an average of 25 minutes. Nevada workers sued, saying that under federal law they should be paid for that time. The lawyer for Integrity Staffing Solutions said he screening was not “indispensable” to the job, and therefore should not be considered paid time. Justice Elena Kagan countered that what “makes it Amazon” is that it its inventory control is so intricate that it knows “where every toothbrush in the warehouse is.”