Plaintiff Michelle Martinho filed a California labor lawsuit in state court back in 2022. After applying online and completing an online test in 2018, she was hired as an hourly nonexempt employee, But Amazon required new hires, including Martinho, to attend a new hire event, or mandatory onboarding, to complete forms regarding eligibility to work legally.
In the motion for summary judgment, Martinho was required to attend Amazon’s new hire event that required:
- Completion of I-9 paperwork,
- Taking a badge photo,
- Conducting a background check,
- Watching a welcome presentation,
- Completing a drug test
Amazon sent her I-9 paperwork so she could complete her portion beforehand. At the event the paperwork was then confirmed and Section 2 was completed, which “requires Amazon to examine documents establishing Plaintiff’s eligibility to work in the United States.” The first event took just under one hour and the drug test, that took place at another Amazon facility a few days later, took about the same time.
Under the California law and labor code, Martinho, who worked at an Amazon fulfillment center in Tracy, California for about seven months, argues that she be paid for the two hours at the new hire events. Amazon, however, asked the court to dismiss her lawsuit, because she was not an employee during the onboarding but rather a “contingent” hire.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers partially agreed with Amazon, saying that drug testing, background check and I-9 form is part of the application process. However, because Martinho acted as an employee when her ID badge photo was taken and when she watched Amazon’s new hire presentation, the judge refused to grant Amazon summary judgment on those claims.
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Judge Gonzalez Rogers said those tasks are “categorically different” from a drug test or employment verification, which are required to determine employment eligibility, and it’s irrelevant that Amazon still labels new hires’ offers “contingent” at that point in the process, reported Law360.
The judge also granted class certification for all individuals who applied for and received a nonexempt position in one of Amazon’s warehouses, distribution centers and fulfillment centers in California; attended a standard in-person or hybrid new hire event at any time from July 14, 2018, to the present; and completed either the badge photo or welcome presentation activities.
The case is Michelle Martinho v. Amazon.com Inc. et al., case number 4:22-cv-06849, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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