Apple Store employees file lawsuit, claim company not paying for security searches
Apple's anti-theft procedure for its employees is the topic of a class action lawsuit filed by two former Apple employees, according to a report in AppleInsider. The lawsuit was filed last week by Amanda Frlekin and Dean Pelle in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Like many retailers, Apple has a security checkout procedure that requires employees to submit to a personal package and bag search whenever they clock out for a break or leave at the end of the shift. The search can take up to 15 minutes, which is time not compensated by Apple. According to the complaint, "[one plaintiff] worked approximately 50 minutes to 1.5 hours of uncompensated overtime. By conservative calculations, this equated over the course of one year to an aggregate amount of approximately $1,400 in uncompensated hours." The lawsuit seeks to end this practice and provide compensation to employees who were subjected to these searches.
The complaint is a class action lawsuit that extends to "[a]ll Apple Hourly Employees who worked in an Apple, Inc. retail store in the United States, who are or were employed within the three years preceding the the filing of this action by the Defendant, and who were: (a) not compensated for off-the-clock time spent waiting in security screening lines and undergoing personal package and bag searches before being allowed to leave the premises; and/or (b) were not fully compensated for this time worked over forty hours per week at overtime rates."
