An Arizona man employed by Amazon has filed suit against the company for violations of the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and corresponding state law. The plaintiff claims that as an FLSA exempt employee he was entitled to overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 per week, but was not paid for his efforts, and was instead disciplined for working extra hours and off the clock.
The complaint explains that the plaintiff was a shift manager in Amazon’s Tempe, Arizona warehouse. In that role, he was allegedly responsible for “overseeing his team of associates, handling programming incidents, communicating with other locations, and evaluating associates’ performances.”
The plaintiff was reportedly given more work than he could accomplish during a normal workweek, and routinely put in extra hours to finish it. According to the complaint, he was told to clock in for a maximum of 12 hours per day, but even in that time, could not complete his workload.
The plaintiff estimates that he worked approximately 10 uncompensated hours per week off the clock. Though his employer acknowledged that he was working overtime, it did not compensate him for those hours.
The filing alleges that because Amazon knew or should have known that the plaintiff was working hours that were neither recorded nor compensated, it knew or showed reckless disregard for whether its actions violated the federal labor law. In turn, the two-count complaint seeks a declaratory judgment, monetary damages, liquidated damages, prejudgment interest, and an award of the plaintiff’s attorneys’ fee and costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Davis Miles McGuire Gardner PLLC and Sanford Law Firm PLLC.
