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

[sulpfiction]

Put the time clock AFTER the security check point. Cause once I clock out, I'm on MY time. And I bet if I chose to take 15 mins of "MY time" during my shift, I'd be fired. Quickly.

Such a simple thing to fix. And it just annoys the F%#^ out of me that this is even an issue.

 

[appleisking]

Yep.

Honestly there is a lot of items I would not want to leave in my car out of security reasons and where I live heat issues.

Laptops do not take a 150+ degree temps very well. I have had cell phones shut down in my car because they over heated. So a back pack with things like maybe a laptop or computer stuff in it and a change of clothing is fine. I remember when I work hourly I would sometimes bring in a bag with a change of clothing in it for after my shift. I would get off clock out go change then head out. I was not heading home afterwards so I needed a change of clothing.
Now days I still sometimes bring into work a change of clothing. Often times that change is either me dressing up or changing into some athlete clothing as I can and do often wear T-Shirt and jeans to work.

or how about living in metropolitan areas like nyc, where parking space is non-existent and so cars are impractical?

 

[samcraig]

Some backwards logic.

It's apparently no big deal if you are are an hourly employee to give up your time to benefit Apple (and their security issues)

But it's a big deal for Apple - a multi-billion dollar company to (allegedly) compensate people appropriately for their time.

I'll let that one sink in for some of you...

 

[Treq]

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

Irrelevant. If it's 50 cents or 50 dollars, it's my money, not apple's.

 

[thelatinist]

You can bet if the checks were done on company time it wouldn't take 15 minutes, either.

 

[Treq]

Put the time clock AFTER the security check point. Cause once I clock out, I'm on MY time. And I bet if I chose to take 15 mins of "MY time" during my shift, I'd be fired. Quickly.

Such a simple thing to fix. And it just annoys the F%#^ out of me that this is even an issue.

I know. Who are these people saying I should just give my employer my time for free? Are they rich or something? Do they not understand basic concepts like being paid for your time?

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i'm not that upset, i'm laughing at how pathetic the work force has become to demand being paid forTHEIR TIME.

Fixed

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Obviously "missing the point" that Apple did NOT have them "working without being paid."

They were doing "nothing" but waiting while their bag was checked.

If the law says you cannot make an employee work for the company on their own time but they are not actually "working at all while just standing there on their own time" then it is kind of pointless.

So the company doesn't need to pay you if there are no customers? If there are no customers there is no work to do. So why should apple pay for their employees to sit around and wait for a customer?

 

[winston1236]

Great way secure your place on the unemployable list. Who'd want to employ a clock-watching, troublemaker?

Admittedly, policies should ensure checks are done "on the clock".

Wrong. A multinational corporation like Apple needs to pay up if they want employees to work. We outlawed slavery a long time ago.

 

[Genghis Khan]

You got to laugh at Americans sometimes.

'You're suing your boss! How DARE you!? You should be thankful that they pay you at all! Ungrateful layabouts.'

Seems to me that there's very little respect for other people in the U.S.A. (Australia is quickly following suit unfortunately).

Employment is a two way street. The company doesn't want to pay the employees, and the employees don't want to work. Traditionally, the aim has been to meet halfway/make a compromise - but it seems the current trend is to lean towards 'not paying'...

 

[iLilana]

I love apple but

I hate retail level ******** like this.

 

[2IS]

Great way secure your place on the unemployable list. Who'd want to employ a clock-watching, troublemaker?

Admittedly, policies should ensure checks are done "on the clock".

So you start by bashing them, and end with agreeing with them. Makes a lot of sense.

 

[appleisking]

It was your choice to have your schedule that way rather than putting your classes together and making those days your not available.

YOUR choice, not Apple. They are not requiring you to have it as part of your job. Leave it in car, rearrange your schedule Etc.

And this person has to go out of his way to work around that tight schedule for something Apple wants to do in an illegal way because? It is not legal for them to demand this outside the clock and not pay them. This is why Apple employees have to submit future iphone innovation suggestions on the clock and not outside, because doing so outside would obligate Apple by law to pay them for their time. Simple as that.

 

[AppleScruff1]

It was your choice to have your schedule that way rather than putting your classes together and making those days your not available.

YOUR choice, not Apple. They are not requiring you to have it as part of your job. Leave it in car, rearrange your schedule Etc.

Funniest post I have read in this thread. The ultimate Apple defense.

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That is their choice. If they know that their purse will be checked and want to avoid it, they can stick it in a pocket and leave that purse out of store. After all it's not like they will all be in that pocket at the end of the day, we don't take them home to wash and reuse.

I don't know any women who share your point of view, but by all means do whatever is best for Apple.

 

[Retired Cat]

You got to laugh at Americans sometimes.

'You're suing your boss! How DARE you!? You should be thankful that they pay you at all! Ungrateful layabouts.'

Seems to me that there's very little respect for other people in the U.S.A. (Australia is quickly following suit unfortunately).

Employment is a two way street. The company doesn't want to pay the employees, and the employees don't want to work. Traditionally, the aim has been to meet halfway/make a compromise - but it seems the current trend is to lean towards 'not paying'...

It didn't used to be this way in America. Decades ago, an honest day's work would earn a fair day's wage. Now, workers are nickeled and dimed for everything.

Global capitalism, the rise of big retail, and Wall Street investors demanding their profits changed all that.

Shouldn't all of us be arguing about plastic iPhones? Just kidding!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[bwillwall]

Yeah, but you were ALREADY clocked in while your employer's computers were taking soooo long to boot up. You were getting paid while you waited for your computer to boot up.

As an hourly employee, every minute counts.

I worked for Apple Retail for 3 years...$8.25/hr. 15 minutes = $2.0625. That's $2.0625 every single time, every single shift.

When I was a teenager, that wasn't small potatoes. That added up!

That's all Apple retail pays? What the heck...

 

[crzdcolombian]

Yeah, but you were ALREADY clocked in while your employer's computers were taking soooo long to boot up. You were getting paid while you waited for your computer to boot up.

As an hourly employee, every minute counts.

I worked for Apple Retail for 3 years...$8.25/hr. 15 minutes = $2.0625. That's $2.0625 every single time, every single shift.

When I was a teenager, that wasn't small potatoes. That added up!

really that is all? Think you only got 15 % off too haha

Abercombie & Jcrew much better deal. When I was in high school they gave me 50% off the 1st 500-1000 worth of cloths I got from them and like 500 of free clothes. Plus a 20% discount after that. That and was making 10 bucks an hour. No way Apple store still pays that low. Everyone I see there looks to be past their 30s

 

[libertysat]

My sister works in engineering for Boeing
Not much to pilfer but many times a month everyone going out thru security to parking lot gets shook down
It takes her about 10+ minutes - just to get to/from her work station (where she clocks in/out) - just to get to security where it takes varying amount of time to get thru that

My buddy works for Raytheon and also doesn't have much to pilfer there
Same deal for him, long walk after clocking out at work station and random shake downs at security to get out

Apple stores have tons of high value, easy to conceal & pilfer goodies
Makes sense to me from business perspective...I'm willing to bet large that if the ranters here were responsible for the pilferage losses, they too would impose similar policies

 

[DakotaGuy]

Some backwards logic.

It's apparently no big deal if you are are an hourly employee to give up your time to benefit Apple (and their security issues)

But it's a big deal for Apple - a multi-billion dollar company to (allegedly) compensate people appropriately for their time.

I'll let that one sink in for some of you...

I don't want to come off as being sarcastic so please don't take it that way, but this is a Apple fan forum, not an Apple employee forum. A majority of people are here because they support and back Apple Inc. Now if this was some other corporation they were talking about i.e.: GameStop then I think they would be much more critical, but this is Apple. Every time Apple reports new record earnings people are VERY excited around here and when things are selling like hot cakes making huge profit they are also very excited.

I am not surprised at all to see the corporation get more support then the employees on this issue because many people here live and breath Apple.

 

[samuelelbaz]

Wow, people get worse all the time. They whine about everything, its a job not a fun zone. This is another stupid law suit in this country, that is obsessed with suing everyone and company. Who gives these people jobs to begin with hopefully they get fired and hire people who know what work is and means. If they were that bothered by there 5 minutes they should quit, when it happened.

 

[bbapps]

Actually, If there was an issue... I would invest in some cameras and catch the true thieves, not treat all of my employees like thieves.

 

[backseatdriver]

Former Genii

as a very recently departed Apple Genius of 4 years I never got by bag checked if I had to wait more than 30 seconds. No one ever complained. Why? Because it's ******** and they know it. I had access to millions of dollars equipment all day. If I was going to steal, I'd be a little bit more creative then walking out the front door with it.

Note: This leniency definitely varied from store to store. I have worked at some stores where there was a line to get out of the building.

Coming from a NYC store there were times I had to carry luggage around with me. Do you think I was going to wait off the clock to have someone go through my dirty laundry?

It's just typical Apple management pushing people around because they can.

Looking forward to seeing what happens.

 

[diazj3]

I for one, as a regular consumer, would rather see Apple Store employees get treated fairly, respectfully and paid a comfortable and competitive living wage, so when I go there, I get treated in the same way by competent employees... instead of all the money - including peanuts like these douchebag savings - going to overpaid VPs, corporate staff clowns, corporate lawyers and greedy speculators that don't add direct value to the products and services I use.

But that's just me...

 

[mabhatter]

Other retail employers have had Loss Prevention issues. Some have gone to the point of only allowing employees to use clear zippered bags.

The other option is to not bring bags into work.

I think they have a case if the employee handbook doesn't state the policy. If it does, they chose to work there, and knew what they were being subject to.

But Apple Stores are almost always in well trafficked cities where using mass transit is expected. In those cases, people like students live out if backpacks for multiple jobs/classes/errands. If APPLE is going to IMPOSE such a onerous inspection, APPLE needs to make sure their manager is available when employees are off the clock.. Because that's what managers are for.

I'd say, just keep my stuff in my car... But that's selfish enough to assume I have a car, and that my car sitting in a Mall parking lot or public garage isn't going to get ROBBED of my stuff while I'm working.

 

[mabhatter]

The problem though is that it's not just "bag checks", you are issued a tech card that carries the make and serial number of any Apple branded technology you bring into work. This includes iPhones, iPads, iPods, Macs, etc. Having to wait ten minutes after clocking out, on an always busy sales floor, people bumping into you, etc just so a manager can glance at your phone & card (rarely actually checking the numbers) to allow you to leave gets to be frustrating as hell after a while. Honestly at the end of the night it was rarely a problem since the managers were MUCH less occupied with pressing issues, i.e. customers.




Other managers if there were two at the end of a shift or one of the last employees leaving as the manager locks up. Almost always performed outside the glass doors to ensure no theft.

Just make sure your personal phone is a Samsung!

 

[3282868]

I am absolutely, truly, disgusted at some of these comments.

Any company who forces their employees to be searched, on the employees own free time, needs to compensate the employee for their lost time. It needs to come from the company's own dime. No exception.

To all of you saying the workers don't NEED to bring the bag in, who in the blue hell are you, to speak for them and say they don't need a bag to hold their belongings? Not everyone has a car to store stuff in. Some people actually bring lunch into work and countless other things they need a bag for. YOU have no say in what other workers need a bag for. Lets get THAT straight.

Apple chose to hold and search their employees (during their free time), there is no way in hell to justify why the worker's shouldn't be paid for it.


The hell with worker's rights you know? I cannot fathom how you could think otherwise...

These comments from the corporate apologists and apple fangirls are TRULY disgusting to read. Absolutely ********** awful man.

Absolutely. Years back I was in retail management for Apple, we got hammered on employee theft and shrinkage. We weren't nearly as busy as they are today, even still employees had to clock out online in order to be checked out. Myself being diabetic, I have to bring a messenger bag to work for my test kit and insulin in addition to work related documents. Even as manager, we had to be examined before leaving, which cut my hourly by 15-20 minutes, resulting in blood sugar levels becoming a bit off as I had little time to eat and make adjustments.

This isn't about whiny or entitled individuals, it is simply a matter of policy. There is always a back end manager in the office, etc. who can easily check bags as part-time specialists leave. It does add up, and Apple certainly has been aware of the matter for quite a long time. They're a corporate entity, they will do whatever they can to squeeze every last penny from customers and employees. Not news. People used to take it at face value, now people have become empowered by the internet through petitions, determining if legal action is applicable, then find an attorney.

People complain about "unions" while forgetting that unions were established in the face of corporate workplace abuse. Without the efforts of many before us, we would have less recourse in our employment conditions. Now, instead of unions, we have class action lawsuits. The irony.

 

[mustang_dvs]

It will get thrown out. Employee is not required to bring personal property to the store. Factories have been doing this for decades at their gates.

One item that hasn't been pointed out -- at least so far as I've seen, is that employees who owned Apple-branded technology had to carry a "personal technology" card for each piece of equipment, which then had to be checked against the serial number on each device, every time they left the store.

I don't know about you, but I'm not leaving a $600 iPhone in my car simply because of the hassle of having it checked each and every time I leave my place of work.

Even better, if your supervisor thinks it's hilarious to change the language on your iPhone/iPod/iPad to Mandarin, Thai, Arabic, Korean, Cyrillic, etc, every. single. time. he 'investigates' your serial number. There's nothing so "fun" as having to figure out how to navigate the menus on your personal property when it's set to non-roman characters by the jackass who decides if your job performance is up to par.