Amazon is now facing a lawsuit that was filed by its former workhouse employee, particularly because of a rest and meal break setup that was dishonored by the retail company, despite deducting it from their wages, reported on Sunday, March 28. The popular e-commerce company in the world is notoriously known for its work conditions which were protested and fought off by its employees.
Whether it was blocking off unionizing parties or lawsuits on working conditions, Amazon has been faced with a lot of disputes regarding working conditions within the company and has been the center of attention for this. A lot of employees have been lashing out against the company, and most of them are from the heart of its operations, the workhouse, and logistics.
Former Amazon Employee Files Lawsuit Regarding Break Times
A worker prepares packages for delivery at an Amazon warehouse on September 4, 2014 in Brieselang, Germany. Germany is online retailer Amazon's second largest market after the USA. Amazon is currently in a standoff with several book publishers over sales conditions and prices for e-books, and hundreds of authors in the US and Europe have written letters in support of the publishers.
In a lawsuit filed under the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California last Friday, Mar. 26, Lovenia Scott, a former logistics specialist has revealed the unfair treatment of the company to them. Most of what Scott focused on is the deduction of their payment for taking their breaks, with the company not letting them finish their intended break times.
Every five hours on the shift, Amazon employees are entitled to 30-minute meal breaks, or the additional rest of 10 minutes for every four hours worked on the job. Scott allegedly claimed that Amazon does not let them finish these intervals from their jobs, and was forced to get back on where they left off without fully maximizing their time.
On the other hand, Amazon cuts or deducts these break times from their wages, which was a known setup from the e-commerce company when they hired these workers. The prosecution team with Scott is now seeking the court to make it a "class action" lawsuit and to be placed in front of juries to present the case and make Amazon accountable.
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Amazon's Work Conditions via its Former Employee
According to Gizmodo, Scott divulged certain information regarding her stint as a workhouse employee for Amazon, and here she revealed their conditions as they were employed under the e-commerce company. Here, she said that there were no written rules as to their 30-minute and 10-minute meal or rest breaks that were unknown to other employees.
Moreover, the company does not schedule meal shifts and breaks among its employees, which means that the workers should choose their time to use their time and leave their work during their preferred moment. Additionally, the company forces them to carry their walkie-talkie radios around, despite going on meal breaks.
Scott also added that the company has also made it so, where everyone would take their meal breaks at the same time, resulting in a long line in their cafeteria which takes 10 to 15 minutes of their time already. Employees are forced to clock-in and out at exactly their intended break schedules, or it would be a problem within the management.
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Written by Isaiah Alonzo
