Apple Could Owe Millions for Off-the-Clock Employee Bag Searches in California

[V_Man]

This was debunked in the end. The rates were lower than the general populous.

Foxconn suicides - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

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The problem with Apple is that you must wear a uniform and are not allowed to wear that uniform outside the store.

So what are you putting your change of clothes in? Is Apple washing your uniform? You have to take it home somehow and that's going to be in a bag.

The Apple stores have locker rooms so that employees can change before and after shifts?

 

[steve62388]

The Apple stores have locker rooms so that employees can change before and after shifts?

I don't know if they do or not. But that was my point about washing, because you still have to take your uniform home to wash it unless you want to stink, and that's going to be in a bag.

 

[alex1100811]

Never heard of this before. I worked at an Apple store in WA state and non of the store that I ever knew of did such things.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Well in this version of America the court ruled that Apple has to pay for time spent waiting in line after employees clocked out.

The real question was, "Did the employer require the employees to clock out prematurely?"

Not that Apple has been accused of this, but others have been found guilty - employees who are required to clock out no later than 8 hours after clock-in, and then are required to work "off the clock." That's what laws of this sort are intended to address. Hourly workers have to be paid for every minute of work. If a person isn't free to leave the employer's premises, then they are not on their time, they're still on the boss's time.

Employers can and do design their workplaces to accommodate this, as others have noted - locker rooms beyond the security zone, sufficient security guards/metal detectors to keep delays to a minimum, etc. Those things cost extra money, and an employer has an incentive to keep its costs to a minimum. Shifting those costs to the employees by making them clock out and then not letting them leave quickly and efficiently... not acceptable.

 

[mi7chy]

Makes sense. If enforcement is company policy then it's on company time and employees should be compensated.

 

[DVNIEL]

That's what gets you off? You're better than that.

I would like to think that I have fine taste in many things.

 

[Timothy Leo Crowley]

I am a long time Apple fan boy and rarely find fault with their behavior. This was clearly wrong, they should do the right thing and promptly pay any employee when was forced to undergo this search without pay. No appeals, no whining, just apologize and do the right thing.

 

[miniyou64]

True, but when their interests match my interests, I'm fine with letting them do their thing.

That’s exactly why this corrupt government still exists

 

[pweicks]

This is the first time ever that I think I might actually agree with the state of California on something.

 

[MadeTheSwitch]

Here's a reference where workers in a bus coin room weren't even allowed to wear shirts, so they ended up smuggling coins out in their underwear: https://www.icac.org.hk/new_icac/eng/cases/cmb/p8.html

All men? Working shirtless? Sign me up! (As long as it’s warm enough!).
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I’ve worked at retail that did bag checks. At the end of the night it was less than a minute to check everyone’s bag and leave. I think in cases like that you don’t need to be paid. No ones forcing you to bring a bag. When you start to have to wait I think that changes though. Especially when you get over the 5 minute mark. You should have to pay your employees for that.

I worked retail and we would check each other’s bags. Granted two employees could be in on the take together, but when you are a small store often with only two people at the end of the night anyway, what else can you do?

 

[tigress666]

I actually have, but I moved on because I didn’t care for it and wasn’t interested in working minimum/near minimum wage forever. My point seems to have gone over some people’s heads. This is America, where you can choose to quit and get another job if you aren’t happy and you won’t be punished for it. Additionally, the headline mentions long wait times, but where is the data?

That doesn't mean that employers should be allowed to just do whatever they want. If they are forcing you to stay and you cannot leave (if you want to keep your job), then they need to pay you for your time. Just cause they aren't actually holding you down doesn't mean it's not an attempt at forcing. They are making it mandatory if you want to keep your job. And honestly, it's a bit disingenuous to claim it's so easy to just quit and get another job just like that. If it is so easy to get another job, how come we have a lot of low wage jobs that treat people as crappily as they can. If it was so easy to just change jobs, all jobs would have to treat their employees a lot better just to keep them.

 

[rhondaleebaby69]

So apparently even Apple employees are better served using Google devices...

 

[4jasontv]

The problem with Apple is that you must wear a uniform and are not allowed to wear that uniform outside the store.

So what are you putting your change of clothes in? Is Apple washing your uniform? You have to take it home somehow and that's going to be in a bag.

I would assume they would put their t-shirt in a pocket. If it’s cold they might try to store it under a jacket. It’s not exactly something that requires a tailor.

 

[tranceking26]

That's awful, shows no trust in employees and they'll have little faith in Apple.

 

[alex1100811]

Never had anything like this at the Apple store I worked at in Bellevue, WA. None of the other stores had such practices either, but maybe it was also because I worked from 2016-2019.

 

[Weaselboy]

Never had anything like this at the Apple store I worked at in Bellevue, WA. None of the other stores had such practices either, but maybe it was also because I worked from 2016-2019.

There was a post over on 9to5Mac from someone who worked at an Apple Store in 2013 when this case happened, and he said they stopped this practice right after the case was filed.

 

[HiRez]

It's incredible that Apple, a company known for its finely honed PR department, would not see this was going to be a really bad look much earlier. How did they let it get to this point? While I blame the PR department for not fixing this, this smells like Tim Cook's "let's wring every penny" cheapness at work.

Not only is it bad for current employees, it's bad for recruiting future employees. Why deal with this crap when you can work someplace else and not?

 

[ronntaylor]

Not a good look for Apple. Shortchanging tech workers by colluding with other tech giants to not "poach" each other's workers, not paying for meal breaks, racial discrimination allegations and this long going suit that may take some time to finally resolve. It's been a part of Apple's history well before Tim Cook became CEO.

 

[code-m]

Sex and Politics, the oldest story.

Please keep politics limited to appropriate threads.

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She's my daughter and certainly not interested in your type 😡

Neither she or you even know me, thus I am seeking the opportunity

Hold on why are you selecting the type of person for your daughter, that is the troubling part