After Pee Controversy, Amazon Sued By Ex-Worker For Not Providing Meal Breaks

A former Amazon employee has filed a lawsuit in the United States. The e-commerce giant allegedly failed to provide workers with the necessary 30-minute meal breaks.

Since its original filing in San Francisco County Superior Court in February, the lawsuit was transferred to the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Friday.

Lovenia Scott, the former employee, said in a Business Insider report that Amazon failed to provide employees with the requisite 30-minute meal breaks for every five-hour work cycle as mandated by California laws.

"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 suit claims.

Amazon also asked the staff to take a break "if and when they could get it," the complaint added.

Scott, who worked in the Vacaville factory, said Amazon employees experienced significant staffing problems and excessive overtime. Hence, they were unable to take their breaks if they managed to finish on schedule. She said many employees in Vacaville took their lunch breaks at the same time because of how Amazon arranged the meal breaks.

According to the ex-Amazon employee, workers need to form queues at the computer system to swipe their badges to clock out for their break time. Hence, those at the back of the lines need their breaks reduced as they wait their turn.

According to The Verge, Scott's lawsuit said shifts were "chronically understaffed." It prevented some workers from taking 10-minute rest breaks to complete their jobs on schedule.

The complaint also claimed that Amazon did not pay employees for using their personal mobile phones to perform their tasks at work. Scott added that the retail giant refused to pay her final salary on time after working at the Vacaville warehouse from October 2016 to January 2019.

These aren't the only worker-rights complaints that Amazon has encountered in recent weeks. Allegations of employees urinating in bottles in 2018 recently resurfaced after a Twitter spat between the company and Democratic lawmakers over Amazon's labor issues.

"If that were real, nobody would work for us," the company tweeted in response to the accusations of "peeing in bottles." However, documents obtained by Business Insider revealed that Amazon was aware of drivers' habit of urinating in bottles and defecating in bags.