Amazon is fighting some of its employees over the cost of working from home
Amazon has dismissed a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that the company should have adequately reimbursed its employees’ costs associated with working from home during the pandemic, but failed to do so.
U.S. District Judge Vincent Chhabria dismissed the lawsuit in San Francisco, announcing that 619 of 7,000 California employees represented, or 8.8%, had been reimbursed an average of $66.49 for home internet costs, some of which were reimbursed in full.
In addition, Chhabria concluded that plaintiff David Williams had not provided sufficient evidence of a company-wide policy within Amazon not to reimburse expenses such as Internet bills.
Amazon hybrid works
However, the plaintiff’s request for group certification was denied unconditionally, meaning Williams and his attorneys can reapply.
Williams’ attorney, Craig Ackermann, has already expressed plans to file a new motion excluding the 619 employees who received compensation. more discovery” (via Reuters (opens in new tab)).
Williams first sued Amazon in 2021 because he and many colleagues had used their personal phones, the internet and other services and utilities to hybrid works routine, but that the company had failed to comply with state laws to reimburse work-related expenses. Class action claims were added at a later stage.
Amazon said the work-from-home mandate was issued by the government and thus had no obligation to reimburse such expenses, yet Chhabria rejected his request to dismiss the case earlier this year.
William’s choice of attorney has not gone unnoticed, having previously handled similar claims against IBM, Fox Broadcasting and Oracle, some of which have been settled in favor of the employees. Although this instance has been dismissed, the case is likely to continue.