Attorneys at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender (Martin S. Garfinkel, Adam J. Berger, and Lindsay L. Halm) have filed a class action complaint on behalf of workers from Extra Car Airport Parking, Inc. in SeaTac, who were not paid the $15.00 per hour minimum wage as required under the new SeaTac Ordinance that went into effect on January 1, 2014. For more information, see the attached press release and complaint.
Employment Law
Amazon Sued For Failing To Pay Warehouse Workers For Time Spent On Security Checks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Seattle) Amazon.com and its warehouse staffing agency have been sued today in federal court in Seattle. The case, Allison v. Amazon.com and Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., alleges Amazon failed to pay workers for time they were required to spend in security lines waiting to undergo searches during their lunch breaks and at the end of their shifts. Workers leaving the warehouses are required to clock out before standing in line at security check points, resulting in an average approximate 25-minute wait because of the large number of employees in the huge facilities. The workers are not allowed to have personal items such as phones, personal electronic devices, or books in the facility, and have no way to use the time waiting in line for their own purposes.
Amazon warehouses, known as “fulfillment centers,” are located in fourteen states, including three in Washington, which is home to Amazon. The lawsuit is filed as a “collective” action under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act that applies to employees nationwide. The suit will also include class actions for workers in some states, such as Washington and California, where state labor laws offer greater protection to the workers than afforded under federal law.
Many warehouse employees are technically hired by the staffing agency, Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., which is also a defendant. In April 2013, the 9th Circuit held that a case for unpaid time brought by workers in the state of Nevada could proceed.
The nationwide lawsuit in Seattle was filed by the firms Johnson Becker of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sommers Schwartz, P.C. of Southfield, Michigan, The Maher Law Firm of Orlando, Florida, and Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender of Seattle, Washington.
Amazon workers who may be part of the class are urged to contact one of the law firms bringing the case:
Contact
Adam J. Berger
(206) 622-8000
SGB Attorney Lindsay Halm guest on KUOW’s The Conversation RE Seattle Workers – What Are Your Rights
Emery Reddy and SGB help former Seattle teacher achieve settlement against the District
Rebecca Roe lawyer at Schroeter Goldmark & Bender, guest columnist for the Seattle Times writes: Under Rob McKenna’s tenure as attorney general, tort payouts have gone up because he has not pursued risk-management efforts to reduce payouts.
SGB Attorneys triumph in a $5.5M Settlement Class Action lawsuit against Bethlehem Construction
Schroeter Goldmark & Bender attorneys Marty Garfinkel and Adam Berger are victorious in representing employees in a class action lawsuit against Bethlehem Construction. 328 workers will receive payments of between $100 and $60,000 each under the settlement award in the case.
Class Action Settlement against Bethlehem Construction – Puget Sound Business Journal Story 10-23-12
$5.5M Class Action Settlement against Bethlehem Construction – Seattle Times Story 10-25-12
SGB Attorney Lindsay Halm speaks out about employers and Facebook privacy
Watch the King 5 interview here.
Court of Appeals Affirms Rest and Meal Break Judgment for Class of Brink’s Armored Car Employees
The Washington Court of Appeals has affirmed a $1.3 million judgment in favor of a class of armored car drivers and messengers who were denied their rest and meal periods by their employer, Brink’s Incorporated. That judgment was reached after a four week trial in late 2009 in front of King County Superior Court Judge Michael J. Trickey. The court ruled that Brink’s Incorporated has to pay back wages, plus interest, to 182 drivers and messengers for the period between 2004 and 2007 because it did not allow them an opportunity to take rest breaks and meal periods. The employees worked as messengers and drivers on armored trucks out of branch offices located in Seattle and Tacoma and picked up and delivered cash and other valuables throughout Western Washington.
Under Washington state law, all employees are entitled to 10 minutes of rest break time for each 4 hours of work, and a 30 minute meal period after 5 working hours. The Court of Appeals affirmed that because of their continuous work responsibilities guarding the high value property on the trucks, the Brink’s employees had no personal time during the day when they could rest and eat.
“We are very pleased with the decision. These employees worked very hard under difficult conditions and faced considerable dangers every day. They deserved to be treated in compliance with the law,” stated one of the attorneys for the class, Adam J. Berger, of the Seattle firm of Schroeter, Goldmark & Bender. Although the original judgment was for $1.3 million, with additional post judgment interest, the total amount of back pay and interest is estimated to exceed $1.5 million.
More information about the class action case may be found on the website of class counsel, Schroeter Goldmark & Bender, at www.sgb-law.com.
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Schroeter Goldmark & Bender is one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest plaintiffs’ law firms, and has been assisting injured families and workers for more than 35 years.
SGB Attorneys Win Fight to Protect Increase in Washington State Minimum Wage Rate
SGB attorneys Martin Garfinkel, Adam Berger, Bill Rutzick, and Lindsay Halm representing the Washington Department of Labor and Industries and its Director Judy Schurke, were successful in defeating an effort by the Washington Farm Bureau, the Washington Restaurant Association, and the Washington Retail Association seeking to overturn L&I’s decision to increase the state minimum wage rate from $8.55 per hour to $8.67 per hour based on the provisions of RCW 49.46.020. SGB had been hired by the state to defend L&I because Attorney General Rob McKenna had advised against the increase. On behalf of L&I, SGB argued that the law mandated the $.12 per hour increase due to inflation over the past year. The business groups contended that no increase should be ordered until the national consumer price index exceeds its August 2008 level. Kittitas Superior Court Judge Scott Sparks upheld L&I’s decision, and as a result, the increase in the minimum wage will go into effect as planned on January 1, 2011.
Up-and-Coming Professionals: Seattle Attorney Lorena Gonzalez
Read the entire article here.