Apple Retail Employees File Class Action Lawsuit Over 'Bag Check' Lost Wages

[Terrified]

you get plastic bags for free at the grocery store...

And how much stuff do you have to buy to get enough to dispose of at least one every day? And how much of a waste of resources is that? Are the produced and manufactured for free? Do you think perhaps other firms have to make them?

The sensible option here is not to bring disposable bags to work every day - it's not sustainable, and it's not really responsible. Buying one bag to carry many items is.

And it *still* doesn't cover those who have to carry medical supplies.

 

[charlituna]

I don't think being paid for their time is "cashing in".

No but filing this after they left instead of while they were being subjective to this horrible work condition sure is

 

[MegamanX]

Again I state.. People like you are the reason the middle class is disappearing. Keep whining about every little thing thinking you are entitled to the world. You don't have to bring your bag with you on every break and lets be real, you are not losing 5 minutes every time. Also every employee is not making $20 an hour they are more likely making about $10 an hour. You are arguing about minutes a week, literally a few dollars a pay check quit acting like you are losing an hour of work a day. People hear that it took 5 minutes one time and assume they get to act like they lose 5 minutes of pay for every break. Also you only clock out for a lunch break and when you go home so again your point is moot. You are not losing $500 a year. Get over yourself

Try it is the other way around. It is people like you is the reason the middle class is disapearing. You believe it is ok for companies to walk all over their employees and pay the higher ups ungodly amounts of money for the work they do.

If you think Apple retail is "middle class" then you really do not know what middle class is.

It speaks volumes if this is how you believe the people at the bottom should be treated.

Also since you seem to think $10 a week is not much money. Please send me $520 ever year. That is only $10 but I sure as hell would enjoy an extra $520 to spend.

That little bit of money adds up fast. I have been doing a lot of little things to increase my saving rate. Oh that $5 here and there adds up. Taking my lunch to work saves me $3-5 every time as eating out is costing me $10 I can make a good and healther lunch for less than $5. Turning up my AC a degree saves me a few dollars a month.
Cutting my cable bill saves me another $20 a month.

That little bit adds up very fast.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

And how much stuff do you have to buy to get enough to dispose of at least one every day? And how much of a waste of resources is that? Are the produced and manufactured for free? Do you think perhaps other firms have to make them?

The sensible option here is not to bring disposable bags to work every day - it's not sustainable, and it's not really responsible. Buying one bag to carry many items is.

And it *still* doesn't cover those who have to carry medical supplies.

i'm not saying you have to do it... someone said there is no solution to bring their lunch to work without a backpack...

WRONG... there is a very simple solution that anybody could use. And you could use one freaking plastic bag all year. Put it in your pocket after you use it and you can continue to use it the next day, the next week, month...

you guys just whine like omg i have to have a backpack, no you don't always have to have one.

Medical supplies don't necessarily have to be brought in to work... could easily be left in your car it's not like you park 10 miles away.

Not to mention, the majority of staff is not diabetic that every person needs to bring so many med supplies.

You also act like women have to bring an entire box of tampons to work every day... hardly

and the more people that don't bring bags frees up time for those who do "need" them for their med supplies and shortens that search time. cause and effect.

 

[samcraig]

No but filing this after they left instead of while they were being subjective to this horrible work condition sure is

Isn't it possible that they didn't feel they had a case. Or that they just sucked up and dealt with it until it was brought to their attention that what was going on was potentially illegal?

But sure - if they are indeed victims - let's blame them!

If they are entitled to restitution - they are entitled to it. If they aren't - then they aren't. I'm not sure it's valid to argue how much time has passed.

 

[the8thark]

Disclaimer: Not a lawyer. But I am a business professor. This is not a cut an dried case by any means.

First, why was this policy put in place? Likely there was significant "shrinkage" in their inventories. Research shows that more loss comes from employees than customers. So, the policy likely came about because of the behavior of employees.

Second, no one is required to bring bags into work. If you bring a bag in knowing the policy, you have consented to being searched and have volunteered your time. If you don't want to be inconvenienced, lock your bag in the trunk.

Third, Apple was not making employees work during this time. The laws in this area are to prevent employers from getting employees to work without paying them. The only benefit that Apple got was to not have their products stolen.

I would wonder, were there 15 minutes during the day where these employees were not directly adding value to Apple? Do they want to give back money for the times when they were just standing around?

I very much believe that employees should have their rights protected, but I also believe that companies have the right to protect themselves from abusive employees. Since there was a clear remedy for this that would be easily implemented by an employee, I would have to side with Apple on this one.

I read your post and you make good points. But please explain these points I have. I'd like your opinion on them.

1. Not everyone has a trunk of a car to leave a bag in (think globally and not just inside the USA). On Apple store wages a lot of people can not afford their own car, and have to use public transport.

2. Apple store wages are low. And the workers might want to save money by bringing their own lunch and not buying out every day. And since you can't eat it instore, you have to have whatever the lunch is packed in, checked before you leave the store. If there was a meal or food allowance within the wages then Apple would have a point. But since there is not, Apple don't have a valid reason for this.

3. "Since there was a clear remedy for this that would be easily implemented by an employee" I disagree. What if you walk to work and need to use an umbrella if it starts to rain. And you have to have a bag to store it in if it rains, or you need to take some medication with your lunch you need a bag to put it in etc etc. If something is a requirement of the job, it should be required to be done on the clock and not off it. The only exception I would allow for this, is if there were staff lockers where the staff could securely store their bags, provided for by Apple in such a way that bag checks before and after shift were no longer required. If this is not the case then this lawsuit does have fair grounds to proceed in my opinion. And as much as I like Apple, I hope the plaintiffs win this. They are in the right.

But with the US justice system as it is, it's impossible to tell if the party in the right will win.

 

[samcraig]

i'm not saying you have to do it... someone said there is no solution to bring their lunch to work without a backpack...

WRONG... there is a very simple solution that anybody could use. And you could use one freaking plastic bag all year. Put it in your pocket after you use it and you can continue to use it the next day, the next week, month...

you guys just whine like omg i have to have a backpack, no you don't always have to have one.

Medical supplies don't necessarily have to be brought in to work... could easily be left in your car it's not like you park 10 miles away.

Not to mention, the majority of staff is not diabetic that every person needs to bring so many med supplies.

You also act like women have to bring an entire box of tampons to work every day... hardly

and the more people that don't bring bags frees up time for those who do "need" them for their med supplies and shortens that search time. cause and effect.

Actually - the one who seems to be most emotional about this is you. At least that's how you come across. Most everyone else I'm reading seems to be non-emotional about it.

So who is "whining" ?

 

[the8thark]

not saying htere's no precedent, but a safety video is certainly more legitimate than bringing a bag to work

I see your point. But retail theft prevention was never a free service to the business. And if Apple want to check their employees they should have to pay for the privilege.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Try it is the other way around. It is people like you is the reason the middle class is disapearing. You believe it is ok for companies to walk all over their employees and pay the higher ups ungodly amounts of money for the work they do.

If you think Apple retail is "middle class" then you really do not know what middle class is.

It speaks volumes if this is how you believe the people at the bottom should be treated.

Also since you seem to think $10 a week is not much money. Please send me $520 ever year. That is only $10 but I sure as hell would enjoy an extra $520 to spend.

you're not losing $10 a week... you are maybe losing $2.

it does not take 5 minutes every day to get your bag checked... most days probably takes one or two minutes. Assuming you make $10 an hour, you are losing $0.16 a minute.. even if you lose 30 minutes a week, that's only $5...

You think $2 is going to bring you from the lower class to the middle class? NO

 

[Terrified]

i'm not saying you have to do it... someone said there is no solution to bring their lunch to work without a backpack...

WRONG... there is a very simple solution that anybody could use. And you could use one freaking plastic bag all year. Put it in your pocket after you use it and you can continue to use it the next day, the next week, month...

you guys just whine like omg i have to have a backpack, no you don't always have to have one.

Medical supplies don't necessarily have to be brought in to work... could easily be left in your car it's not like you park 10 miles away.

Not to mention, the majority of staff is not diabetic that every person needs to bring so many med supplies.

You also act like women have to bring an entire box of tampons to work every day... hardly

and the more people that don't bring bags frees up time for those who do "need" them for their med supplies and shortens that search time. cause and effect.

The epi-pens I carry in case of anaphylactic shock (which has happened twice, and they've twice saved my life), have to be within distance of someone who can inject me within around 30 seconds of me having an attack. Sooner if it's severe. Leaving them in the car could kill me.

Saying "that doesn't affect everyone" doesn't change the fact that it affects some people. Repeatedly saying "just don't bring a bag" isn't really a response to those people who need to bring a bag.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Actually - the one who seems to be most emotional about this is you. At least that's how you come across. Most everyone else I'm reading seems to be non-emotional about it.

So who is "whining" ?

i could care less... i'm just saying people who sue over things like this are NOT the solution to america.. You guys think the best way to solve your problems is to sue apple cuz they stole $0.16 from us for that minute we had to get our bag searched.... instead of thinking of a real solution to your problem you would rather sue someone and point the finger. Yes you are the ones whining about the problem, I am just telling you how you could easily solve your "unsolvable" problems that "mandate" bringing a backpack to work..... lousy excuses for lazy ass people

 

[Dr McKay]

you're not losing $10 a week... you are maybe losing $2.

it does not take 5 minutes every day to get your bag checked... most days probably takes one or two minutes. Assuming you make $10 an hour, you are losing $0.16 a minute.. even if you lose 30 minutes a week, that's only $5...

You think $2 is going to bring you from the lower class to the middle class? NO

You can try and validate it all you want. The fact remains that Apple has no rights to force you to lose out on money by losing time on your breaks and staying behind late.

 

[MegamanX]

you're not losing $10 a week... you are maybe losing $2.

it does not take 5 minutes every day to get your bag checked... most days probably takes one or two minutes. Assuming you make $10 an hour, you are losing $0.16 a minute.. even if you lose 30 minutes a week, that's only $5...

You think $2 is going to bring you from the lower class to the middle class? NO

Again if is is so little they why the **** does Apple not pay it. I am waiting

If you stand by your argument I am waiting for my $100 check please. I agree a $100 is not much money but I also would not mind an extra $100.

I also see you moving goal post again... But this is yet another example of why the middle class is disappearing. They do this to the lower class. You do not think they are pushing the middle class down as well......

 

[AppleScruff1]

i'm not saying you have to do it... someone said there is no solution to bring their lunch to work without a backpack...

WRONG... there is a very simple solution that anybody could use. And you could use one freaking plastic bag all year. Put it in your pocket after you use it and you can continue to use it the next day, the next week, month...

you guys just whine like omg i have to have a backpack, no you don't always have to have one.

Medical supplies don't necessarily have to be brought in to work... could easily be left in your car it's not like you park 10 miles away.

Not to mention, the majority of staff is not diabetic that every person needs to bring so many med supplies.

You also act like women have to bring an entire box of tampons to work every day... hardly

and the more people that don't bring bags frees up time for those who do "need" them for their med supplies and shortens that search time. cause and effect.

Do you know anyone who wears a colostomy bag? Women with a heavy menstrual flow? Someone with an incontinence problem? Or is defending Apple at all costs most important?

 

[Serelus]

i'm not saying you have to do it... someone said there is no solution to bring their lunch to work without a backpack...

WRONG... there is a very simple solution that anybody could use. And you could use one freaking plastic bag all year. Put it in your pocket after you use it and you can continue to use it the next day, the next week, month...

you guys just whine like omg i have to have a backpack, no you don't always have to have one.

Medical supplies don't necessarily have to be brought in to work... could easily be left in your car it's not like you park 10 miles away.

Not to mention, the majority of staff is not diabetic that every person needs to bring so many med supplies.

You also act like women have to bring an entire box of tampons to work every day... hardly

and the more people that don't bring bags frees up time for those who do "need" them for their med supplies and shortens that search time. cause and effect.

You're basing all these things on trivial circumstances going along lines of "just buy something" or "leave it in your car." First of all I take the bycicle to work. And second, working on the IT department I need to bring a laptop. Should I put that in a plastic back too? You can keep trying to come up with these solutions to every single situation possible. But the fact is I shouldn't have to adapt in that manner just to get out of having my bag checked, which is obviously NOT an option for most people.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

The epi-pens I carry in case of anaphylactic shock (which has happened twice, and they've twice saved my life), have to be within distance of someone who can inject me within around 30 seconds of me having an attack. Sooner if it's severe. Leaving them in the car could kill me.

Saying "that doesn't affect everyone" doesn't change the fact that it affects some people. Repeatedly saying "just don't bring a bag" isn't really a response to those people who need to bring a bag.

guess you didn't read my post because yes there might be a few people who "need" it close... you can't keep those pens in your pocket? And not everyone needs an epi-pen

Stop acting like the only solution is to have a backpack... like i said, lousy excuses for lazy people.

 

[Bishop1j]

To all those criticizing the employees and talking about it being ONLY 5-15 minutes. Guess what - do some math

Multiply that by 5 days a week, 52 weeks a year.

On the low end it's 21.66 hours. On the high end, it's ~65 hours.

I don't know about you - but if I was working hourly - I wouldn't want to "give" away 22-65 hours of my time for free.

Conversely - multiply that among amongst the staff that works for Apple and you'll see Apple is seemingly "liable" (notice I put that in quotes) for millions of dollars that they've not paid out.

Dare I make the fictional analogy to Superman III where Richard Pryor's character "only" cheats the company a percentage of a penny on each paycheck and how much he collect.

Personally, I think there should be a "reasonable" happy medium. While I wouldn't want to give 21.66 hours away a year - I do think that as a general rule of thumb - "costing" 5 minutes of a delay for a search is at least reasonable to me.

Those saying "Well they don't HAVE to bring anything to work" are out of touch. On any given day they might be students and go to class before or after. They might have two part time jobs. They might bring lunch and an umbrella in a bag. They might have a purse. Etc.

I understand why Apple would not want to pay for this time. But I don't agree with the practice.

Finally someone with some common sense!

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Do you know anyone who wears a colostomy bag? Women with a heavy menstrual flow? Someone with an incontinence problem? Or is defending Apple at all costs most important?

oh every woman must carry that with them i forgot... all employees have diabetes, every woman needs 55 tampons a day, everyone needs an epi pen on them too, oh and don't forget..... jesus give me a break

 

[charlituna]

Employee handbooks still have to comply with the law. They can write what they want there, but they still have to pay their employees for the time they work.

Please explain to me how having a bag you are not required to bring checked when you leave is work.

Checking email that can only be accessed on site and is required for you to know the contents at all times, attending required meetings' sure. But it was your choice to bring that bag so how is that work

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

If I were a sales person at apple, would I have a car by default? No then be quiet.

yeah, everyone walks to work, i forgot... nobody uses cars anymore in 2013

 

[charlituna]

I am going to point out that you are taking about corporate office. Not the retail line which at the end of the day is retail.

To me this is precedences. I want apple to get rack over the coals on this one to set a strong precedences. Companies abuse their hourly employees way to much as it is in retail. Bag check is just yet another one. Apple needs to pay up and end the bag check practice on employees own time.

Oh they will end the bag check all right. By banning bring any bags or personal tech into the store. That will end those checks real quick.

 

[xxBURT0Nxx]

Do YOU work at Apple? Why are you so concerned with defending the company?

i'm not really defending apple... EVERY company does things like this. Like I have said, I don't get paid for the time it takes me to get through security at work to get to the office building. You don't see me crying trying to sue them because of the few minutes i lose a week waiting on the security gate.

 

[AppleScruff1]

oh every woman must carry that with them i forgot... all employees have diabetes, every woman needs 55 tampons a day, everyone needs an epi pen on them too, oh and don't forget..... jesus give me a break

So you have no idea what a colostomy bag is? Take a break. Relax. Apple will be fine.

 

[Serelus]

yeah, everyone walks to work, i forgot... nobody uses cars anymore in 2013

Are you really that unaware of what you're saying? Are you seriously assuming every sales rep at an apple retail store goes to work with a car?

 

[Dr McKay]

guess you didn't read my post because yes there might be a few people who "need" it close... you can't keep those pens in your pocket? And not everyone needs an epi-pen

Stop acting like the only solution is to have a backpack... like i said, lousy excuses for lazy people.

Just because there are ways around being forced to remain behind hours and lose time from lunch breaks, doesn't mean what Apple is doing isn't wrong. It is not laziness to bring your belongings in a backpack.

Apple making people wait behind, in their own time while waiting to be searched is flat out wrong. If Apple are going to require this, they need to do it on their own time, it could simply be done to a person before they clock out. ALL this hassle would be gone. Or how about ensuring adequate procedures are in place to prevent people being kept behind on their own time? Stores and managers that are doing this to people are failing them.