Roger Fingas
A class action suit over Apple store workers' unpaid time spent in bag checks may soon be headed to the California Supreme Court, after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appealed to the institution for guidance.
In a Wednesday filing, the Court of Appeals asked the state's Supreme Court to decide whether bag checks are "compensable as 'hours worked' within the meaning of California Industrial Welfare Commission Wage Order No. 7," even when people could technically avoid the checks by leaving purses, backpacks, and other bags at home.
"As a practical matter, many persons routinely carry bags, purses, and satchels to work, for all sorts of reasons," the court noted. "Although not 'required' in a strict, formal sense, many employees may feel that they have little true choice when it comes to the search policy, especially given that the policy applies day in and day out. Because we have little guidance on determining where to draw the line between purely voluntary actions and strictly mandatory actions, we are uncertain on which side of the line Plaintiffs' claim falls."
Any interpretation of the Wage Order will have "significant legal, economic, and practical consequences for employers and employees throughout the state of California, and it will govern the outcome of many disputes in both state and federal courts in the Ninth Circuit," the court added.
The original case against Apple complained that workers can spend up to 20 minutes per day being searched before being allowed to leave a store. Apple has claimed that its searches take only seconds, and pointed to the option of just leaving bags at home. A 2015 decision dismissing the case was later brought to the Court of Appeals.
Oliver Haslam
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
Wesley Hilliard
44 Comments
It's part of your commute, like a stop light at the end of the street exiting the mall parking lot. The fact these workers came back their second day on the job verifies that they accepted the length of time it takes to get from their homes to their workstation within the Apple Store, and vice versa Or maybe I'm from an older generation where people didn't cry about such minor crap.
This lawsuit is absolute horse shit. There is no limits to whining and complete pettiness.
I don't understand. If you don't like the policies of where you work or how much you're getting paid, then find somewhere else to work. It's completely voluntary.
Ah, techie libertarians, there you are. Precious.
Sorry but no. If an employer requires its hourly workers to do anything, they pay. Lawyers and graphic designers don’t give away free time to clients (even short phone calls): they bill it. Why should retail workers be expected to give employers free clock time?
They shouldn’t. To say otherwise is being irrational in the name of brand loyalty, rugged individualism and bootstrapping, yada yada. Part of Americans’ odd infatuation with corporate masters and business over people. (“Corporations are people, my friend.” -Mitt Romney)