(Gregg Pupecki, Headline USA) During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees were fortunate enough to be allowed to work from home, but for some that privilege was not enough.
Employees from several companies, including Amazon, now believe they are entitled to free internet, electricity and company-paid office supplies for their remote work.
David Williams, a California-based senior software engineer for Amazon, claimed in a class-action lawsuit that the company violated state laws by failing to come up with a policy to compensate employees for remote work-related expenses, Bloomberg reported.
Amazon has more than 4,000 employees in California who worked from home during pandemic lockdowns and could benefit from this lawsuit.
Unlike the frontline factory workers who still had to report to work, Williams complained that he and other white-collar employees had to pay for routine office expenses while working from home and that Amazon should be responsible for covering that cost.
One online critic responded to the lawsuit online by saying, “So, let’s get this straight. Workers refuse to go back to the office, but they do want the employer to cover their at-home expenses.“
In a court hearing, Amazon argued it is not liable for the expenses because the company was following government orders to shelter-in-place and close office space. They asked the court to dismiss the case.
However, California US District Judge Vince Chhabria on Wednesday allowed the lawsuit to move forward to trial, saying, “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.”
The case is shedding light on the entitlement attitude many of the highly compensated employees share at these woke companies. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Visa, Oracle and Liberty Mutual Insurance are facing similar law suits from employees that were allowed to work from home.
