# Supreme Court to workers: Drop dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 9, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-to-workers-drop-dead/706799 "2014-12-09T22:30:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![FXMastermind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fxmastermind/32/7289_2.png) [@FXMastermind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FXMastermind)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-to-workers-drop-dead/706799/61 "2014-12-12T04:44:51Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Should you get paid for the drive time between your home and your workplace? When getting to a place of work requires a plane ride, then a long boat trip, followed by a long snowmobile trek, yeah, you get paid for your time and effort and expenses. When your commute is simple, and there are a thousand other people who would take your job, you don’t get anything for travel, even if it takes four hours each day, and sucks ass due to congestion, road construction and other annoying factors. Economics. But the real question is still unanswered. How much time can Amazon (or anyone else) demand of you, with no pay, before the court would rule you get paid for your time. An hour? Two hours? If it’s legal to force somebody (or you get fired) to stay on the job site, after the clock out, how long is legal? Five hours? What’s the amount of time the court would judge is “OK” to force you, with no pay, to stand around and wait? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-to-workers-drop-dead/706799/62 "2014-12-12T11:32:27Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > When getting to a place of work requires a plane ride, then a long boat trip, followed by a long snowmobile trek, yeah, you get paid for your time and effort and expenses. > > When your commute is simple, and there are a thousand other people who would take your job, you don’t get anything for travel, even if it takes four hours each day, and sucks ass due to congestion, road construction and other annoying factors. > > Economics. > > But the real question is still unanswered. How much time can Amazon (or anyone else) demand of you, with no pay, before the court would rule you get paid for your time. > > An hour? Two hours? If it’s legal to force somebody (or you get fired) to stay on the job site, after the clock out, how long is legal? > > Five hours? What’s the amount of time the court would judge is “OK” to force you, with no pay, to stand around and wait? No force: you’re not “forced” to have any job. This is not an issue that courts can address. If there were no minimum wage law, do you imagine courts would force employers to pay a certain minimum? The redress here, if we want a redress, is for Congress to amend the law. The courts are simply ruling in accordance with the law. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-to-workers-drop-dead/706799/63 "2014-12-12T11:44:41Z")
could you imagine the slippery slope here - RUling is you must be paid for the time you wait in line - employee A is compensated 30 seconds employee Z is compensated for 30 minutes (120 people in line, 30 seconds apiece). You’ll see employees specifically fighting over the unfairness of that. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-to-workers-drop-dead/706799/64 "2014-12-12T15:58:02Z")
> [@simster](#): > > could you imagine the slippery slope here - > > RUling is you must be paid for the time you wait in line - > > employee A is compensated 30 seconds > > employee Z is compensated for 30 minutes (120 people in line, 30 seconds apiece). > > You’ll see employees specifically fighting over the unfairness of that. Certainly no less unfair than the current system. And possibly a perfect opportunity for market forces. Those who need to leave as soon as possible (pick up kids; get dinner ready; whatever) can go to the front of the line, get out earlier, and get little or no extra pay. Those who don’t have so many time pressures can go to the end of the line, wait, and get paid. Or Amazon could just hire enough security scanners and staff to get everyone out quickly. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2014, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-to-workers-drop-dead/706799/65 "2014-12-12T17:45:55Z")
> [@simster](#): > > could you imagine the slippery slope here - > > RUling is you must be paid for the time you wait in line - > > employee A is compensated 30 seconds > > employee Z is compensated for 30 minutes (120 people in line, 30 seconds apiece). > > You’ll see employees specifically fighting over the unfairness of that. No slippery slope, the company should pay people based on a standard time that equitable to as many employees as possible or compensate them based on the maximum time they could be waiting. Like I said at Disneyland, I was given 15 minutes. Luckily, I was close to the exit and can get out in about 5-10. People working across the park might take more. But the time was generous enough that people didn’t complain about it Amazon should just pay people for the 30 mins no matter how long they actually take. If they think its wasteful, then they should increase the speed of their security screenings ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2014, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-to-workers-drop-dead/706799/66 "2014-12-13T23:22:29Z")
> [@Squall Winds](#): > > Well, this court’s majority is made up of **K** nuckleheaded **RATS** – **K** ennedy, **R** oberts, **A** lito, **T** homas, and **S** calia, so none of the sociopathic, inhumane shit decisions they make surprise me any more. > > Pretty displeased that the four semi-sensible members of the Court also went along with this canard, though. And we can look forward to years more of the same because we have a two-term Democrat POTUS who has had and will never have the opportunity make any meaningful changes to the Court. You can’t replace the **K** nuckleheaded **RATS** if they refuse to retire. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-to-workers-drop-dead/706799/67 "2014-12-14T00:46:00Z")
> [@FXMastermind](#): > > When getting to a place of work requires a plane ride, then a long boat trip, followed by a long snowmobile trek, yeah, you get paid for your time and effort and expenses. As a matter of custom, and as commonly agreed upon, but not as a matter of law. There’s no legal reason that we shouldn’t allow someone to work somewhere remote enough that it required that transportation and pay them only for the time they were working. After all, they could move closer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/supreme-court-to-workers-drop-dead/706799.md?page=3)