I'm hearing otherwise. The customer facing side of Apple gives off a warm and fuzzy impression, the internal side reveals a different position. It's all about control.
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Apple to Face Class Action Lawsuit Over Off-the-Clock Employee Bag Checking
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29 U.S.C. §254(a) addressed your second and third points when passed in 1947. It's the same statute interpreted in Integrity Solutions, inc. v. Brusk. Traveling to and from work, plus any incidental travel expenses, are generally non-compensatory activities.Perhaps employees should be happy that they are allowed to bring a bag to work in the first place, there would be nothing stopping from Apple from making a rule saying "no bags allowed" at all!
Regardless, the rationale behind the searches is reasonable (theft prevention), so in that case, how far do you take the argument?
"This search of the bag I voluntarily brought to work took up some of my personal time. I want compensation"
"I have to take mass transit to my job so I need a bus/metro pass. I want compensation."
"I have to drive half an hour to my job which takes up my personal time, costs gas and induces mechanical wear on my vehicle. I want compensation."
Some companies offer perks to address the above, but definitely not all, so are those also fair arguments to sue over?
The Apple Store: If you're poor enough to work here, you're probably a thief.
The Supreme Court has only said this is ok under federal law. The case is now applying California labor law, which is generally much more stringent that federal. As a side benefit, if the plaintiffs win, Apple has to pay the attorney fees as allowed under California law. The employees keep all the money they recover.
The case is now under California law. The court dismissed all federal claims. California law allows attorney fee awards the employer pays if a plaintiff wins under certain labor laws.
No news here. As retaliation after the 12,000 loose the case Apple will assign them on rotation to the Apple Watch "Try on Station."
That would be worse than getting fired!
Precisely. I am not compensated in any additional manner as I pass through our Security Stations with Metal Detectors each morning and afternoon (evening.)
Employees do not have to bring a bag with them to work.
Apple will face a class action lawsuit brought against it by retail employees in California who were subjected to ongoing bag checks that often caused them to remain at work for 10 to 15 minutes after their shifts had ended, reports Reuters.
Employees allege Apple subjected them to mandatory bag checks that were "embarrassing and demeaning," and were conducted off the clock, leaving them uncompensated for their time. The group is seeking damages for unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, and other recompense.
The lawsuit was first filed in 2013 and after some legal hurdles that included a 2014 dismissal, it was granted class action status today by U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco. Class members participating in the lawsuit include more than 12,000 of Apple's current and former employees in the state of California.
Amanda Friekin and Dean Pelle, the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit, claim Apple's bag checks were mandatory each time a sales rep left the store and were put in place to discourage theft. Several employees subjected to these bag searches emailed Tim Cook in 2012, writing that managers were "required to treat 'valued' employees as criminals" and that the searches were often performed "in front of gawking customers."
Over the course of the past two years, Apple has argued that the case should not get class action status because not all managers conducted bag searches and that the bag searches that did happen took so little time that compensation was not necessary. Now that it has received class action status, the lawsuit will go to trial.
Article Link: Apple to Face Class Action Lawsuit Over Off-the-Clock Employee Bag Checking
But that's not the issue here. If you have to pass through a security station to clock in, that's generally ok if federal law applies. If you can clock out inside the secured area and walk through the detectors, that's ok if federal law applies. But under California Labor Code §11040(2)(k) "[h]ours worked" means the time during which an employee is subject to the control of an employer. So for Apple to say "Stay here longer than obligated for us to search you or you're fired" is arguably "subject to the control of an employer."Precisely. I am not compensated in any additional manner as I pass through our Security Stations with Metal Detectors each morning and afternoon (evening.)
Apple will win this case. How the "plaintiffs" actually think they can win is beyond me.
if you don't want you bagged searched do bring it work! Maybe the Apple employees complaining about searches they show go to work at Fed-Ex where all employees are subject to TSA 'like' screening
The problem isn't how long the actual search takes, the problem is how long people have to wait to get the backs checked when the store closes and everybody leaves at the same time.
Neither of which is happening on a daily basis and costs you time you don't get paid for every day.
Kind of like if you observe the sun, moon, and stars going around from one side of the sky to the other, you are probably on a planet that is at the center of the universe.
Frankly, I find this ridiculous! Grow up children, you're big people now in the real world. What a laughing stock. Oh the indignation of having your bag checked, but then it gives you something to sue for, doesn't it.
A term comes to mind, 'Only in America."
A term comes to mind, 'Only in America."
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It is very odd to me how many Macrumors members are against the plaintiffs, many people just saying "leave your backpack at home!" 7 out of 10 Americans are taking a prescription drug, many of them needing to take a dose during work (or right afterwards) and where do those people store their medicine? Discreetly in their bag. The employees have a right to privacy when it comes to medical matters, and the law is rather clear on this. This happened at many Harvard libraries (viz. Widener, Lamont and Cabot) to check for theft. Maybe 1 out of 5 times the guard would ask you to open every single pocket in your bag, exposing medicine. It's demeaning and it isn't right. I hope the plaintiffs are successful. For whatever it is worth, 10 seconds equals about 3.5h a year of work that has gone unpaid (and ten seconds for every bag search every single shift is a stretch).
If you leave on the dot of when your working day finishes, then you're one a lucky few. Maybe I should sue if I'm more than 1 second late getting out of my workplace door.
Seriously. Some people need a smack around the head to give them a wake up call to reality.
Seriously. Some people need a smack around the head to give them a wake up call to reality.
It doesn't. But it seems the focus is on nonpayment rather than invasion of privacy but who knows, I'm not going to read the legal briefs. I am focusing on the moral issue of privacy (something even Mac users can get behind) and the right to not divulge to your employer that you take any medicine at all, let alone what specific medicine you take.
oh come on...
Seriously Apple... so its on in "hours" of bag checks... So what ? Apple probably thinks the best time to do this IS when shift ends..... I would let Apple do this.... its only a bag check, not a "helping a customer" outside of business hours.
Of Apple people leave exactly when their shift end, not a second later. they need a reality check...
Who in a business always leaved at 5:00 .00 seconds on the dot ? No one.. The only reason would be "if your glad to get out of there" which is where i would say "well, why do u work there then"
Seriously Apple... so its on in "hours" of bag checks... So what ? Apple probably thinks the best time to do this IS when shift ends..... I would let Apple do this.... its only a bag check, not a "helping a customer" outside of business hours.
Of Apple people leave exactly when their shift end, not a second later. they need a reality check...
Who in a business always leaved at 5:00 .00 seconds on the dot ? No one.. The only reason would be "if your glad to get out of there" which is where i would say "well, why do u work there then"
That's not the point. The problem is if you have already clocked out and you are not allowed to leave to perform a work-related procedure benefiting the employer without pay.
I'll second what Tech198 wrote as my reply. It seems (not you Allagion) that some people have no concept of working in the real world. It's not a thing of you have to feel lucky to have a job (well you do really) but that you should in return put in silly hours of overtime. To put it another way, are you going to sue the person in front of you at the lights if they were too slow for you and make you 20 seconds late to the next set of lights or to your destination?
Grow up, get a life, and welcome to the real world that exists outside of school.
