Not really. If you have to bring a bag due to a medical reason, then that renders the scenario (public transport, parking, blah blah) moot
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Apple Retail Employees File Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Bag Check' Lost Wages
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Not really. If you have to bring a bag due to a medical reason, then that renders the scenario (public transport, parking, blah blah) moot
So they should make a rule that says you need to stay and work an extra 15 min off the clock. That way they get .25 man-hrs free from every employee...
Really, all they have to do is search their bag before the shift is over. Saying it is their choice to bring a bag is just... Well stupid. Sorry, but if you can't see why some people might need to bring a bag to work, you are just not thinking.
Exactly. They can bring it if they want to or if they need to, but it will be checked. It sounds like many many other companies have the same policy. Last, I am willing to bet the whole 5-15 minutes to check is the absolute worst case ever and rarely happened. It's not like an Apple store is a Ford assembly line at shift change with hundreds of people leaving at the same time.
I can tell you GameStop does this, and it specifically says in both the employee and managerial handbooks, ALL bag/pocket/jacket checks are to be done off the clock.
Also, to the people bitching about the "lunch/break" checks that Apple does, from my understanding, that's only done if you're leaving the store.
Also, to the people bitching about the "lunch/break" checks that Apple does, from my understanding, that's only done if you're leaving the store.
First thank you for giving us all that first informative sentence. And I liked how you rounded out the comment with an insult for anyone who was not aware of your first sentence. Are you trying to help us understand the situation or just trying to humiliate us for not already understanding.
Faulty logic. iPhone and iPad prices don't change because of all the lawsuits. After this lawsuit is settled (regardless of who it's in favor) do you really think Apple wants press on what services/benefits are being cut out as a result?
There is nothing in Apple history (that I can remember) that validates your hypothesis. FUD.
No security, no bag checks, no (employee) shrink in my Apple Store.
Not all areas of the country have the same (lack of) trust issues of their employees.
Not all areas of the country have the same (lack of) trust issues of their employees.
This is clearly job-related and should be on the clock if it is fifteen seconds or fifteen minutes.
I can make a better argument that using the restroom is more part of your everyday work life and a right than bringing a bag to work that doesn't get checked for theft even though you agreed to it.
It's amazing how people reject responsibilities. Responsibilities of companies. The employees don't insist on bag checks, Apple does. If Apple doesn't want to pay for the time employees are waiting for a bag check, then don't check the bags! The employees don't care if Apple checks the bags or not.
The only difference is when it comes to Apple these employees know their employer is worth mega bucks so they want a piece of the pot. Good thing Apple can afford the best legal team in the business.
Look I am all for people being paid for the time they work, but it sounds like the employes knew about this policy from day one. Second, I don't see any proof that it really took that long to check the bags. My guess is someone got mad because it took too long to check one time and decided they now had a way to get some money from Apple.
the fundamental question is why should apple pay to have your bag checked when you were the one who chose to bring the bag? This isn't a compromise here.
"On the low end" can't be true by most any stretch of the imagination. I think it's obvious the complaint is getting checked on the way out has taken 5 to 15 minutes but no reasonable person can possibly believe that it was anything other than an occasional problem. Heck, that's been verified in this thread by many former and perhaps current Apple Store employees.
So if getting held up by 5 or 15 minutes once or twice a month (granted, I'm guessing but it seems consistent with testimonials here) do you have any real grounds for a lawsuit? I don't think so. For all we know it may have only happened around Thanksgiving or Christmas.
the irony here is the employees do care to be employed and theoretically signed an okay to this bag check before they joined. so what's that you said about responsibility?
Some of the comments on this thread are quite disturbing. I love Apple as much as the next guy but why are so many people just immediately defending Apple on this one? May of us have had retail jobs and this is common practice but that DOES NOT make it right.
Hourly employees deserve to get paid for EVERY minute they are working or being "forced" to stay at a physical location. Apple did not do this on purpose to save money on labor, they just had a complacent workforce and inept management that allowed this to happen without bringing this up sooner.
I am also sick and tired of listening/reading the comments that some people make about the "entitled" generation. They are simply asking to be compensated for the time they work. They are barely making enough to feed themselves and these minutes do ADD up.
Whoever keeps saying that Apple does not "force" you to bring a bag, and that it should be left at home or in the car are just delusional. MANY people work in cities that have public transport, so that is not an option. Also, many of these people go to school, have plans, etc. and they may need a bag (for books, water, tampons, phone, etc) It is ludicrous to say that these people should just "leave those things at home"
Call centers are even worse than this. Many employees get stuck on calls past their scheduled shift end constantly. Where my friend works, if they are stuck on a call for 7 minutes or less they DO NOT get paid for it because their inadequate payroll system only tracks .25 hour increments. They do, however, get to leave 15 minutes early per each instance of 7 minutes or more on subsequent days, but it is still NOT LEGAL.
Hourly employees deserve to get paid for EVERY minute they are working or being "forced" to stay at a physical location. Apple did not do this on purpose to save money on labor, they just had a complacent workforce and inept management that allowed this to happen without bringing this up sooner.
I am also sick and tired of listening/reading the comments that some people make about the "entitled" generation. They are simply asking to be compensated for the time they work. They are barely making enough to feed themselves and these minutes do ADD up.
Whoever keeps saying that Apple does not "force" you to bring a bag, and that it should be left at home or in the car are just delusional. MANY people work in cities that have public transport, so that is not an option. Also, many of these people go to school, have plans, etc. and they may need a bag (for books, water, tampons, phone, etc) It is ludicrous to say that these people should just "leave those things at home"
Call centers are even worse than this. Many employees get stuck on calls past their scheduled shift end constantly. Where my friend works, if they are stuck on a call for 7 minutes or less they DO NOT get paid for it because their inadequate payroll system only tracks .25 hour increments. They do, however, get to leave 15 minutes early per each instance of 7 minutes or more on subsequent days, but it is still NOT LEGAL.
Why should employees have to give up HALF of their lunch break for a procedure that Apple have implemented, it's Apple's PERSONAL preference. There are laws on how long employees are required to eat food, time that is entirely their own, and Apple has no right to cut into it. Given that you think taking a bag to work is a stupid personal choice. How do you propose the Staff eat? If they're lucky enough to work in an Apple Store built into a Mall, they now only have 15 minutes of their lunch break to run out, buy food, eat it and run back. The rule isn't the problem, but forcing people to submit to a work related policy in their own time, is effectively making them work in their breaks, without compensating them for it by giving them the minutes they've lost back.
How do you propose the people bring food and drink to work if they make their own lunch? I take a bag to work daily. I take a packed lunch, a bottle of water, a jacket and a waterproof coat in case of rain. It also has my inhaler in. I also sometimes take a book to read during my break. Even if I removed everything I don't need, I would still need a bag to carry all the stuff I actually require.
yes, 5 minutes of non pay is killing the middle class...
even at $20 an hour, that's $1.66 for your 5 minutes. that's $8.30 a week. AND let's be real... most apple employees are not being paid $20 an hour.
$8 a week is NOT killing the middle class.
It's lazy people who post things like this thinking they are entitled to everything in this world and stoop to suing people as a solution to their problem who are killing the middle class.
Yeah, $8.30 a week or about $400 a year doesn't kill the employee. But it sure kills Apple.
More realistically, if the employees get paid for the time when they are waiting for their manager to do a bag check, you can bet that the time for the bag check will go down. From 15 minutes to 15 seconds. Manager laziness at the expense of the other employees, that's not acceptable.
I'm not going to argue your case since you nor i have any proof that actually occurs. Although theoretically they wouldn't need to check your bag since you're not taking it out to lunch and if you do, then that's your choice.
Rules are rules, apple has the right because they're hiring you. you have the right to not work there. that's why this is an entitled generation. i'm all for standing up for human rights. carrying a bag isn't a human right.
Why should the employee have to stay for the bag check if they aren't being paid? The bag check is apple's requirement to stop theft. Apple should pay for the time it takes to be searched.
The 'bag check' policy itself is justified, because it's there as a deterrent to employee theft.
The 5-15 minutes waiting period (until a manager can check you off), if true, is an unreasonable delay.
If this was simply a once in a blue moon thing, where the Store was so busy that a manager was not available to do the check within a reasonable amount of time, then this lawsuit should be thrown out.
If on the other hand, this 'problem' was endemic to most Apple Stores and could be proven that it affected scores of Apple Store employees, and Apple never acted to resolve the matter, then the class action suit is a valid course of action to get back your "lost wages".
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The 5-15 minutes waiting period (until a manager can check you off), if true, is an unreasonable delay.
If this was simply a once in a blue moon thing, where the Store was so busy that a manager was not available to do the check within a reasonable amount of time, then this lawsuit should be thrown out.
If on the other hand, this 'problem' was endemic to most Apple Stores and could be proven that it affected scores of Apple Store employees, and Apple never acted to resolve the matter, then the class action suit is a valid course of action to get back your "lost wages".
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this is where the logic falls apart. The bag check is apple's requirement for bringing the bag. If you drew a decision tree, this decision STARTED with the employee. Apple is saying "sure bring your bag, we just have to check it" which isn't unreasonable.
But we are not just talking about a lawsuit either. If they win this lawsuit then they will also have to make this change going forward with all hourly employees. So if they lost, they would pay out to all the employees and starting paying for this going forward. There is no way they would take this hit without making an adjustment. And there wouldn't be any press about the change because it would never become public knowledge as to why any given change was made. Companies make price adjustments all the time without giving reasons. They don't have to. They can hire at a different rate and not give a reason. they don't have to. Heck, most people don't share wages anyway so how would anyone really know. I assure you a company as successful as Apple is knows where the money is going and adjusts accordingly. There is no doubt in my mind apple has a budget for employee wages and paying everyone this extra would have a huge impact on that budget considering how many hourly employees apple has.
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