Delivery giant UPS underpaid thousands of holiday season workers, US lawsuit alleges

NEW YORK – The US authorities accused global delivery giant UPS of underpaying its seasonal workers vital to meeting the demand of the annual glut of online shopping, according to a lawsuit filed on Dec 15.

The New York Attorney-General’s office said in the lawsuit that UPS, which claims to deliver 22.4 million packages daily, “commits wage theft against these workers in myriad ways”.

“UPS has repeatedly and persistently failed to pay seasonal delivery workers for all time worked,” prosecutors alleged, suggesting thousands of past and present workers are affected.

The filing claims UPS workers were not being paid for their labour before and after shifts as well as during meal breaks, while alleging that UPS’ timekeeping “introduced and compounded” errors.

In a statement, Attorney-General Letitia James’ office said “these unlawful practices deprived workers of millions of dollars”, and it is “asking the court to order UPS to pay restitution for current and former seasonal workers whose wages were unlawfully withheld”.

“Instead of compensating these workers fairly for their labour, UPS has played the Grinch,” Ms James said in the statement, referencing the Dr Seuss character who famously stole Christmas.

The company said in a statement: “UPS takes all accusations of wrongdoing seriously and denies the unfounded allegation of intentionally underpaying UPS employees.”

It added: “We offer industry-leading pay and benefits to our more than 26,000 employees in New York, and we remain committed to following all applicable laws.” AFP