A United Parcel Service (UPS) driver unloading packages in Manhattan, New York City on April 6, 2018 (Image: Shutterstock)
United Parcel Service (UPS) is being accused of Scrooge-like behavior in a new lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Albany, New York ABC affiliate WTEN reported Monday that James sued UPS in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, accusing the logistics giant of intentionally forcing thousands of seasonal employees to work without pay. Some of the allegations include not paying workers for mandatory training, not compensating time spent waiting for trucks and not paying workers for time spent traveling between job sites.
The company has also been accused of committing "repeated and insistent" fraud by automatically docking workers for 30 minutes of pay each day for breaks, even when workers didn't take them. UPS also allegedly forced workers to continue working for hours after they clocked out. James is asking the court to compel UPS to pay millions of dollars in unpaid wages
"These are the workers who carry us through the holidays, who help keep our economy moving and who have been denied millions of dollars in wages that they rightfully earned," James said in a press conference announcing the lawsuit.
"UPS has played the Grinch," she said of the company in a separate press release.
James announced the lawsuit alongside members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Union, which represents full-time UPS workers. The Teamsters had been investigating allegations of wage theft since 2023. Some seasonal workers who went uncompensated for time spent waiting on trucks to arrive to be loaded had to sit in their own vehicles, burning gas while waiting to work.
"They could be waiting out there an hour or two and they won’t get paid till their first stop," Teamsters Local 804 member Juan Acosta told WTEN.
Investigators with the Teamsters also found that in addition to improper timekeeping, the company intentionally isolated its seasonal workers brought on to help with the holiday rush from union representatives. Local 804 operations director Josh Pomerantz said many of the seasonal UPS workers who were victims of alleged wage theft "never met a union official."
"UPS takes all accusations of wrongdoing seriously and denies the unfounded allegation of intentionally underpaying UPS employees," UPS spokesperson Natasha Amadi stated. "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."
