A Pennsylvania resident is suing his employer, a large Internet retail company for failing to compensate hourly workers for overtime accumulated during mandatory security searches in a warehouse facility located outside of Allentown. The worker is filing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of warehouse employees at the facility, alleging the company's practices directly violate the Pennsylvania Minimum Wage Act. He is seeking $50,000 in damages.

These routine searches require employees to pass through a metal detector and submit to bag searches after clocking out, a process that consistently takes 10 to 20 minutes, the employee said. The searches also cut into unpaid breaks, because employees must submit to a re-screening every time they leave the site or go to the break room.

The business requires the searches to combat employee theft, which in one instance cost it $160,000 in stolen electronics at a distribution center in South Carolina. According to The Associated Press, this unpaid security requirement has already led employees in Nevada, Washington and Tennessee to file lawsuits against the company.

Security measures are a necessity in many retail environments, but employers need to make sure that these searches are in compliance with state and federal labor laws. Accurate time and attendance software is essential in managing employee time, which helps businesses manage labor-related lawsuits.

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