Former employee sues Amazon for not providing lunch breaks

San Francisco: A former Amazon employee has sued the e-commerce giant in the US for not scheduling the mandatory 30-minute meal breaks for employees.

According to a verge report, Lovenia Scott, a former employee of Amazon's fulfilment centre in Vacaville, California, alleged that the company didn't provide enough rest breaks for workers.

"When they did get their meal breaks, workers were expected to monitor their walkie-talkies in case of any problems on the floor, which sometimes cut into their break time," the lawsuit claimed.

First filed in San Francisco County Superior Court in February, the case has now been moved to US District Court California, Northern District.

Due to the way the meal breaks were organized in Vacaville, Scott claims, many workers took their breaks at the same time. Lines would form at the computer system where employees swiped their badges to clock out for their break time, meaning those at the end of the line saw their breaks shortened as they waited their turn.

The lawsuit also alleged that shifts were "chronically understaffed," which left some employees unable to take short 10-minute rest breaks in order to finish their work on time.

In addition, workers were not compensated for using their personal cell phones to perform work tasks, the lawsuit claims. Scott, who worked at the Vacaville warehouse from October 2016 to January 2019, also says Amazon failed to timely pay her final wages.

Amazon was yet to comment on the report.

(From IANS with edits)