Apple workers seeking unpaid wages for undergoing daily searches

On Behalf of | Jul 14, 2015 | Benefits & Compensation, Pension |

Electronics giant Apple is once again in the news, but a recent lawsuit against the company does not show it in a favorable manner. Consumers in Texas and elsewhere may be disturbed to hear about the way in which some of its employees are being treated. A group of workers who had filed a claim against the company in 2013 are now filing unpaid wages claims against the company. The plaintiffs are seeking to have another 12,400 similarly situated employees included in this recent lawsuit.

According to the complaint, the workers are subjected to security searches each day when they go onto their lunches and when they leave for the day. During these searches, the employees have their electronic devices and bags searched. One of the primary complaints stemmed from the cards that the employees are allegedly forced to carry. This card contains serial numbers for all of the Apple products that the employees took into work. When the plaintiffs wanted to go home, they apparently had to prove that the devices they had matched the serial numbers on the cards they were carrying.

One of the Apple employees allegedly wronged sent an email to the company CEO explaining the effects that the searches were having on the workers. The employee explained that the searches were demoralizing and pointless. He explained that if people were trying to steal items, they surely would not show the manager a non-matching product and serial number, nor would they attempt to hide items in a bag that would knowingly be searched.

The plaintiffs are seeking to be compensated for the time that they lose while they are forced through the daily searches. In 2014, the US Supreme court did rule that employees are not required to be compensated for the time that they spent undergoing searches. However, because of this ruling, the plaintiffs have found a way to still ask a jury to give them their unpaid wages under California law. Workers in Texas have the right to be compensated for all of the work that they have done. Those who feel that they are not being fully compensated have the legal right to file complaints and attempt to be awarded the money to which they believe to be owed.

Source: businessfinancenews.com, “Apple Inc. Could Face Class Action Lawsuit From Workers Over Security Searches“, Ariel M. Scott, July 2, 2015

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