On December 15th, New York State Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit against United Parcel Service (UPS), accusing the delivery giant of withholding millions of dollars in wages from seasonal employees.
According to the AG’s office, after years of investigation, UPS was accused of “long-term understating work hours, forcing workers to work overtime without pay, and tampering with attendance systems to withhold wages from seasonal workers who help the company operate normally during holiday peaks.” The lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court alleges that UPS has “violated state and federal labor laws.”
UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company with annual revenue of about $90 billion, employs nearly 500,000 workers worldwide. Every year from October to January, the company hires thousands of temporary workers at over fifty distribution centers in New York State. These workers include driver assistants who help full-time drivers make deliveries and seasonal support drivers who use their private vehicles to meet the company’s delivery demands.
In 2023, after concerns were raised by Truck Driver Union Local 804 about widespread wage delays among seasonal delivery workers, the New York State Attorney General’s office initiated an investigation. Letitia James concluded that UPS’s violations were not isolated incidents but rather recurring practices in its New York operations.
The investigation revealed that at times, UPS would delay workers from clocking in even after they were on-site or waiting for hours, not allowing them to clock in until they scanned or delivered the first package; the company would also automatically deduct 30 minutes for meal breaks regardless of whether the workers took a break, and alter employees’ time cards to reduce the hours paid. The Attorney General’s office also found that UPS calculated wages based on the later clock-in time (between scheduled start time and delayed clock-in time), ensuring that any work completed early went uncompensated.
Workers often found upon arrival that necessary packages had not been dispatched or that drivers had yet to arrive. During these delays, they often had to perform other tasks such as preparing vehicles, loading packages, or shuttling between collection points, with these work hours going unrecorded and unpaid; many seasonal workers exceeded 40 hours of work per week during holiday peaks, yet UPS failed to pay the required overtime. Workers were also forced to clock out before completing tasks, and UPS refused to pay for mandatory training, work during designated meal breaks, and other essential tasks not accounted for as compensable work by UPS.
“UPS’s holiday business is built on exploiting workers, but these workers’ time and labor are not getting the fair compensation they deserve,” Letitia James stated in a press release. “UPS’s seasonal employees work long hours in cold weather, delivering holiday packages vital to families across America. Instead of providing these workers fair compensation, UPS plays the role of a miser.”
The lawsuit seeks the court to acknowledge UPS’s repeated violations of wage and labor laws, issue an injunction prohibiting the company from engaging in the alleged unlawful practices, and award damages.
“We have been made aware of the statement released by the New York State Attorney General’s office, and as per company policy, we do not comment on ongoing litigations,” UPS stated in a media release. “UPS takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and will conduct a thorough investigation into the matter. We provide industry-leading wages and benefits to over 26,000 employees in New York and are committed to complying with all applicable laws.”