
By June 2022 plaintiff Anthony Foreman filed his Collective Action Complaint in the Northern District of California, seeking unpaid wages under the FLSA, on behalf of all similarly situated current and former Apple Solutions Consultants. Foreman worked at a Best Buy in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a liaison between Apple and Best Buy. Two months later, in an amended complaint he added California-based plaintiff Connor Sleighter to the complaint, along with six causes of action brought under California law.
Travel Time
Regarding travel time claims, Foreman maintained that “where an employee is required to report at a meeting place to receive instructions or to perform other work there, or to pick up and to carry tools, the travel from the designated place to the work place is part of the day's work, and must be counted as hours worked regardless of contract, custom, or practice.” According to court documents, Apple said that commute from home to work is generally not compensable, particularly true where employees are relieved of duty and have enough time to partake in non-work-related activities. Here, Apple therefore maintained that the gap in time between morning meetings and the start of work at on-site job locations was, as a general rule, sufficiently long that the time was not compensable.
The Deal
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Judge Chhabria approved a $500,000 collective action settlement after two mediations, that ended with a mediator's proposal that both sides accepted. Unclaimed settlement money from those who chose not to opt in will be returned to the Silicon Valley tech giant according to the deal's terms. The case is 3:22-cv-03902, Foreman v. Apple, Inc.