On December 15, 2022, the Oregon Supreme Court gave employers important clarity regarding compensable work time in Buero v. Amazon.com Services, Inc.
The plaintiff in Buero, a warehouse employee, claimed that Amazon had violated Oregon’s wage laws by failing to pay for time spent undergoing mandatory security screenings. Amazon used the screenings to prevent theft of merchandise from the warehouse. The screenings took place at the end of shifts, when the workers exited the secured area of the warehouse. Notably, the warehouse had nine separate screening lanes, five of which were “express,” and employees could choose to secure their belongings in lockers outside the secured area of the warehouse (presumably, in order to expedite the time they spent in the security screening process).
