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Staples Inc Hit With Class Action Lawsuit
Staples Security Check Policy Targeted In Calif. Wage Suit
By Andrew Westney
Law360, New York (April 10, 2014, 7:32 PM ET) — A Staples Inc. subsidiary on Wednesday was hit with a proposed class action in California court alleging the company failed to pay warehouse workers all their earned wages by not compensating them for time spent undergoing mandatory security checks.
Plaintiff Kenya Lawson, who worked for Staples Contract and Commercial Inc. as an "order picker" through February 2014, filed the lawsuit on behalf of all non-exempt hourly employees in the company’s California warehouses, claiming the company systematically required employees to clock out for mandatory security checks prior to taking breaks or leaving at the end of a shift.
The suit, filed in California Superior Court, Los Angeles County, claims that because employees were under Staples’ direct control during the checks, they should be paid wages, including overtime and double-time wages in some cases, for that time.
The suit claims the process, intended to deter theft, was “systematic and continuous, and led many employees to forgo required meal and rest breaks simply because it became futile to try to take a break.”
The security checks, likened to “airport style inspections" with long lines, could last 10 minutes or more of a legally mandated 30-minute meal break and 10-20 minutes or more at the end of a shift, the suit claims. Employees feared punishment if they returned late from a break and were subject to termination or reprimand for avoiding the check, according to the suit.
The suit also claims the company's security check policy violates California's unfair competition law.
The plaintiff seeks damages and potential recovery of no more than $74,999 and injunctive relief, if appropriate. The suit claims no federal question is raised by the suit and the Class Action Fairness Act does not apply. A case of $75,000 or more could be subject to removal to a federal court.
Representatives for Staples were not immediately available to comment Thursday.
Other companies have faced allegations related to employee security check time compensation in recent months.
Walgreen Co. in March agreed to pay $23 million to settle a class action in California federal court that accused the company of failing to pay overtime for mandatory after-work bag checks and not allowing adequate rest periods. The case was removed to federal court after the first suit in the combined case was originally filed in California state court in June 2011.
In October, Apple Inc. was hit with a proposed class action in California federal court filed on behalf of the company’s specialists and managers, who said they weren’t paid overtime wages for extensive time spent clocking in and performing other off-the-clock functions, including security searches. That case is ongoing.
The plaintiff in the current matter is represented by David R. Markham, Peggy J. Reali and Janine R. Menhennet of The Markham Law Firm and Walter Haines of United Employees Law Group.
Counsel information for Staples was not immediately available.
The case is Kenya Lawson v. Staples Contract and Commercial Inc. and Does 1 through 25, inclusive, case number BC542237, in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Los Angeles.
–Additional reporting by Allissa Wickham and David McAfee. Editing by Jeremy Barker.
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