Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) faces a class action lawsuit filed by former retail workers at its New York and Los Angeles retail locations. They allege that the bag searches conducted by the company as an anti-theft measure resulted in unpaid wages of about $1,500 per worker per year.
Apple accused of depriving hourly workers of wages
Apple Insider’s Kevin Bostic reports that the suit claims Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s bag search policies have cost hourly employees all over the U.S. millions of dollars in wages and overtime pay. The focus of the case is the bag search procedure which happens at the end of each shift and when employees clock out to go on their meal breaks.
The bag searches are conducted while employees are not on the clock, and the lawsuit claims that they are important. However, employees said they waited about 10 to 15 minutes off the clock at the end of their shifts for the bag searches and an extra five minutes without being paid for the searches conducted before meal breaks.
Lawsuit calculates the cost of Apple’s policy
According to the complaint, one of the plaintiffs in the class action suit worked about 50 minutes to 1.5 hours of overtime any week that were not compensation. Over one year, that resulted in the loss of about $1,400 in pay.
The class action suit includes all hourly employees who worked in one of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s retail stores in the U.S. in the three years before the lawsuit was filed and who were not paid for the time they spent waiting for their bags to be searched while off the clock.
Apple’s security practices are standard
According to Apple Insider, the bag search policy at Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) isn’t that different from the policy exercised by a number of retailers, especially those which sell electronics. GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME) has a similar policy. Employees go through each other’s bags at the end of closing. However, those checks are conducted while workers are still on the clock.
Plaintiffs seek a jury trial
The plaintiffs in the suit against Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) are seeking to have it given class action status and also receive payment for unpaid wages, overtime and waiting time. They also want the practice to be declared unlawful and either terminated or modified.
The suit was filed in California under the name Amanda Frlekin and Dean Pelle Vs. Apple, Inc.
