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Court hears dispute over pay for security checks

WASHINGTON - Several Supreme Court justices seem disinclined to find that employers must pay workers for time spent waiting to go through anti-theft security checks at the end of their shifts.

The justices voiced these doubts during oral arguments in a case that tests whether existing federal labor laws entitle workers to compensation for such routine security measures.

The case involves two former warehouse workers who filled orders for customers of Internet retailer Amazon.com. They say they had to wait up to 25 minutes in security lines at the end of every shift.

A federal appeals court ruled last year that the workers deserved to be paid because waiting for security checks had become a part of the job.

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