Pennsylvania could be joining the ranks of states that require employers to pay employees for time spent in post-shift security screening (federal law does not require employers to do this). In December 2019, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to consider whether the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act (PMWA) qualifies such security screenings as compensable time in Neil Heimbach v. Amazon.com, Inc. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision has the potential to affect a wide range of industries operating in Pennsylvania, including those in transportation, automotive, and logistics.
Heimbach initially filed a class action suit against Amazon.com, Inc. (“Amazon”) in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in 2013 alleging both federal and state claims for unpaid wages. The lawsuit claimed that Amazon and Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc., which supplied warehouse workers to Amazon, owed employees for time spent in post-shift security screenings. The main purpose of the security screening was to prevent theft, and included the use of metal detectors and the physical searches of employees’ personal items.
The defendants removed the case to federal court, and then the case was transferred to the Western District of Kentucky and combined with other, similar cases filed in various states. While the case percolated in Kentucky, the United States Supreme Court held that the Federal Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) did not require employers to pay employees for time spent in security screenings, essentially mooting the federal claims. That case, Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk, alleged nearly identical claims, and caused the Kentucky federal court to dismiss the claims.
The Pennsylvania plaintiffs challenged the dismissal, arguing that the PMWA wage claims survived. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decided that, because the facts were undisputed and it was purely a question of Pennsylvania law, that it was appropriate to send the question to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to consider the question of law.
If the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decides that post-shift security screenings constitute compensable time, employers would have to pay employees for the time spent waiting in line and being processed through security. This would directly affect companies in the shipping and logistics industries because many have certain security protocols for employees to prevent theft of property or intellectual property. Businesses may have to reevaluate the timing of shifts to prevent or reduce overtime liability for time spent in security screenings.
The case is currently being briefed, and no oral argument has been scheduled to date. With court closings due to Covid-19, it could be some time before a decision comes down on this issue. Companies can use this time to make contingency plans depending upon what the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decides.