Unanimous U.S. Supreme Court Holds Time Spent Waiting to Undergo and Undergoing Security Screenings Is Not Compensable Under FLSA
Amazon.com hourly warehouse workers who must undergo antitheft security screening before leaving the warehouse each day are not entitled to pay for the time spent waiting to undergo those security checks, or actually undergoing them, a unanimous United States Supreme Court has ruled. Reversing a Ninth Circuit decision to the contrary—which had erred by focusing on the fact that the employer had required the activity—the High Court held the security screenings at issue here are noncompensable postliminary activities under the Portal-to-Portal Act and thus not compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk et al., 574 U.S. ___ (2014). Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a separate concurrence in which Justice Elena Kagan joined. For more information, see Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk et al.
Please feel free to contact the Connolly Gallagher Employment Law Team, Matt Boyer, Tim Holly or Mary Akhimien, should you have any questions or comments. Thank you.