Amazon Engineer files lawsuit against Amazon for not paying work from home electricity, internet bills

Whats the case?

One Of Amazon’s senior software engineers sued Amazon for not paying electricity and internet bills which were used during work from home jobs.

However, the company tried to disband a lawsuit, brought by one of the senior software Engineers, asking to refund their workers for electricity and internet bills during work from home during the pandemic.

David George Williams claimed that Amazon is violating California’s labor laws. The state’s Labor Code section 2802 states.

The law said, ‘An employer shall indemnify his or her employee for all necessary expenditures or losses incurred by the employee in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, or of his or her obedience to the directions of the employer’.

Additionally, Williams assumes that the company should also pay for other expenses that happened due to WFH at their homes along with the bills.

Moreover, William sued the company on behalf of himself with other 4,000 employees employed in California across 12 locations.

While arguing, he mentioned that these costs will range from $50 to $100 per month from the time they started WFH due to Coronavirus.

However, Amazon’s lawyer believes that certain electric bills and internet bills is not companies look out for, since it was following work from orders and staying away from office campus.

The Jury’s words –

However, Vince Chhabaria, a US federal district judge in North California, restrained Amazon’s attempt to dismiss the lawsuit.

‘What matters is whether Williams incurred those expenses ‘in direct consequence of the discharge of his or her duties, or of his or her obedience to the directions of the employer’, Judge Vince Chhabaria stated.

He also granted Amazon’s request to dismiss the lawsuit against the company that it violated California’s laws alleging ‘unfair business practices’.

Whereas, he also provided 14 days to get a revised complaint to Williams legal team.

On this matter, Elon Musk – the world’s wealthiest man also wrote down his view point : 

The press always plays along with the class-action law firms, who are the real plaintiffs, not the puppets they find to masquerade as such. Why is this?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 4, 2022