Amazon Settles Oregon Wage Theft Lawsuit

Workers were subjected to “corrective action” if they clocked in late—but received no additional pay if they clocked in less than five minutes early.

The Amazon packages arriving on Portland doorsteps this holiday season are shipped via a warehouse in Troutdale. (WW Staff)
By Lucas Manfield

Even as it prepares to lay off 10,000 corporate employees, Amazon is spending $18 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by its Oregon employees, which alleges the e-commerce giant stiffed warehouse workers on their paychecks.

It’s the “largest wage-and-hour class settlement in Oregon history,” according to a Monday press release from the plaintiffs’ attorney, Jon Egan.

Workers were subjected to “corrective action” if they clocked in late—but received no additional pay if they clocked in less than five minutes early. As a result of the rounding, workers were deprived of pay for more than seven years at four Oregon warehouses, amounting to more than 40,000 hours of unpaid labor, according to legal documents filed in the suit. The complaint also alleges the company failed to fully pay employees at all of its Oregon warehouses when they took breaks shorter than the required 30 minutes.

A U.S. District Court judge approved the settlement of the 2019 lawsuit in September, but notices to affected employees weren’t sent until this weekend, Egan tells WW. Over 10,000 employees will receive nearly $100 each in back pay, and those who file claims can receive an additional $1,200 in penalties.

An attorney for Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

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