Apple store workers in California and New York could be seeing payment of some lost wages not paid by the company if two former employees have their way. A class action lawsuit has been filed in federal court alleging that Apple’s policy to deny payment for time spent waiting in security lines has denied them wages that they rightly deserve.
The named plaintiffs on the lawsuit are two former workers at Apple stores, one from Los Angeles and the other from New York. The two plaintiffs are seeking to represent other Apple store workers from the two states who have not been paid during the time spent in security screening lines. Employees are required to stand in these lines in order to have their bags searched prior to going on lunch breaks and before leaving work for the day.
The two employees allege that they are owed as much as $1,500 in lost wages for every year that they worked at the Apple store. The time that the required screenings took could be as long as 10 to 15 minutes, according to the complaint filed in San Francisco federal court. If the lawsuit is successful, New York employees could be eligible for six years of back wages, and California employees could be able to recover four years’ worth. So far, there has been no comment on the lawsuit by Apple.
The process for receiving compensation for lost wages and injuries on the job can be difficult to handle. An experienced and competent workers’ compensation attorney may be able to help navigate the process and lend their expertise in evaluating the amount of financial compensation that is deserved.
Source: Bloomberg, “Apple Store Ex-Employees Sue Over Unpaid Security Checks“, Edvard Pettersson , July 30, 2013
