Judge Grants Class-Action Status to California Labor Lawsuit against Apple

San Francisco, CAA 2013 California labor lawsuit against Apple alleging employees should be compensated for time taken to search their bags has been granted class-action status. The lawsuit alleged that up to 12,000 current and former employees at 52 stores in California should have been paid for security checks before they left their worksite.

According to Reuters (7/16/15), U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted class-action status to plaintiffs in the lawsuit, who alleged they are forced to undergo security screening every time they leave the worksite, including meal breaks and at the end of shifts.

The lawsuit (case number CV 13 3451) was initially filed by Amanda Frlekin and Dean Pelle in 2013 on behalf of current and former employees of Apple in California. Plaintiffs argue that because the “personal package and bag searches” are done solely for Apple’s benefit and are conducted in all Apple retail stores across the US, employees should be paid for time spent undergoing the bag checks.

According to the lawsuit, time spent waiting for bag checks can add up for employees. Employees who leave the worksite at the same time are required to wait in line for security screenings. Plaintiff Amanda Frlekin alleges she waited between 5 and 10 minutes for all bag checks before meal breaks and 10 minutes before leaving at the end of her shift at every shift.

“By conservative calculations, this equated over the course of one year to an aggregate amount of approximately $1,500 in uncompensated hours worked and overtime,” the initial lawsuit argued. Employees who refuse to undergo a security check could face disciplinary action, including termination.

In 2014, Judge Alsup dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, finding that the lawsuit would not survive a Supreme Court ruling in Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Busk. When he dismissed the lawsuit, however, Judge Alsup gave plaintiffs the opportunity to present a second complaint, but complaints from New York, Massachusetts and Ohio were left off the second complaint.

Apple has argued that not all store managers conducted bag searches and that the time spent in back checks was so insignificant that it should not be compensated.

The lawsuit alleges employees are owed millions of dollars in unpaid wages and overtime. Plaintiffs seek damages, including overtime wages and benefits, attorneys’ fees and interest.