Apple to Pay $30.5M in Settlement for Mandatory Bag Checks Applying to 14.6K Hourly Employees

Apple is no stranger to lawsuits or settlements, and just recently, a California judge gave the approval for a 30.5 million settlement for over 14.6 thousand former and current employees. The company will be paying this settlement to compensate for mandatory bag checks on employees.

Apple Pays $30.5 Million in a Settlement for Mandatory Bags Being Checked

According to the story by the Washington Times, Apple's $30.5 million settlement was approved by a California judge. The settlement was directed to its retail store employees within the state.

The settlement was a result of a lawsuit that wanted compensation for the time that was spent on mandatory bag checks. The stretch of this lawsuit applies to over 14 thousand employees that had either worked at Apple or are still working at Apple.

Employees that Worked from July 2009 to December 15 in California Apple Stores had to have Their Bags Checked Mandatorily

Specifically, the employees that were working in Apple stores located in California between July 2009 and December 15 were affected, as per the lawsuit. After a long legal process, Apple is finally paying the current and former employees that worked within that time frame in California for the mandatory checks.

The first time that legal action was taken was back in 2013 by two former employees. The former employees argued that their bags were checked and that they should be compensated as per state law.

The Lawsuit was Initially Thrown Out in 2015 When a Judge Agreed with Apple's Arguments

The checks reportedly happened when the employees' shifts could happen, and as per the complaint, they would take from 30 to 45 minutes to do so. It was also stated that employees that refused to have their bags checked were at risk of losing their job, as indicated in the lawsuit.

The initial result of the lawsuit did not go so well since the case was first thrown out back in 2015. This was when a certain judge agreed with the arguments of Apple that employees were actually free to not bring any bags to work.

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The Supreme Court of California Decided to Side with the Plaintiffs in 2020

The plaintiffs, however, made an appeal, and the Supreme Court of California decided to eventually side with them in 2020. During a 2020 article by CNET, it was noted that Apple requires its employees to wear apparel that has the Apple brand while working but tells them to remove or cover up their attire when outside the store.

Due to employees being required to wear Apple apparel during work but having to change outside of work, it is reasonable that employees would be carrying their uniform or extra clothes to change within their bags in order to comply with the dress code policy that was compulsory for Apple.

As per an article by MacRumors, the long-running lawsuit has finally resulted in Apple having to pay a settlement of $30.5 million.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian B.