Ulta Failed to Pay Workers for Time Spent in Post-Shift Security Screenings, Class Action Alleges

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A proposed class action claims Ulta Beauty Inc. has failed to pay distribution center employees for time spent undergoing security screenings at the end of each shift.

According to the lawsuit, the time spent in screenings constitutes off-the-clock work for which workers should have been paid at either their regular rates or time-and-a-half overtime rates whenever their weekly hours exceeded 40.

The plaintiff says he worked for Ulta as a material handler at its Chambersburg, Pennsylvania distribution center from October 2015 to January 2020. At the end of each workday, the plaintiff and other employees were required to undergo security screenings implemented to prevent theft, according to the suit. Each worker, the case explains, would be screened individually by a security guard employed or contracted by Ulta after clocking out for their shift. Per the lawsuit, workers were only paid for the hours recorded in Ulta’s timekeeping system and were not compensated for time spent in security screenings.

The lawsuit claims employees’ off-the-clock work often caused their weekly hours to exceed 40, meaning they were deprived of unpaid time-and-a-half overtime wages. According to the suit, the defendant’s conduct amounts to a violation of several Pennsylvania laws governing how workers are to be paid.

Initially filed in Franklin County, Pennsylvania’s Court of Common Pleas, the case has since been removed to the state’s Middle District Court.

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