Six Flags is the subject of a class action lawsuit that alleges employees in states including Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey are owed unpaid wages from as far back as October 2016. The allegations include claims that employees were required to undergo security screenings and facility walkthroughs while off the clock.
The 13-page lawsuit was filed by New Jersey Six Flags employee Danielle Mack on behalf of herself and other employees at the Six Flags Great Adventure & Safari and Hurricane Harbor. In her complaint, she details that employees have to walk “long distances” throughout the 510-acre amusement park before and after actually clocking in to start their shift.
The lawsuit explains that Six Flags employees have to walk the park before and after their shift and undergo required security screenings, tasks that fall under their required job duties. According to the allegations, time spent completing these tasks can take anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes before and after they clock in and out of their shift. For some employees, this could mean up to an hour of unpaid work during every shift. Over the course of a regular workweek, these lost wages begin to add up.
The lawsuit details that the state's fair wage and labor laws were violated because Mack and others were not getting paid the minimum wage as required. The suit explains that the long distances walked and unpaid security screenings "resulted in not receiving the minimum wage for each of her hours worked.”
A map of the amusement park is included in the lawsuit and shows the long distances some employees have to walk. The security screening locations are located at the park's main entrance, and park employees first have to walk to this location, undergo screening, and then walk throughout the park before they can “finally clock in to start getting paid.”
A lawyer who worked to help file the suit, Richard Hayber, details that unpaid wages in this manner are a violation of New Jersey wage and hour regulations. “If are on your premises because you require them to be there, you have to pay them,” he says.
The lawsuit seeks to cover the lost wages for current and former Six Flags employees employed as hourly, non-exempt workers. These employees include ride operators, security staff, maintenance technicians, performers hired by the park, and staff working in the Food Services Department. The lawsuit is seeking over $5 million in unpaid wages.
