Apple told to pay staff for off-the-clock bag checks

LOS ANGELES: The California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Apple must pay employees for time spent waiting for their bags and personal electronic devices to be searched when they leave work. The decision means that the tech giant will have to pay millions of dollars to more than 12,000 hourly workers at California retail stores who fall under the mandatory bag-search policy.
According to court documents, Apple employees are required to clock out before submitting to an exit search which can take from 5 to 20 minutes. On the busiest days, employees say the wait time can be as long as 45 minutes. Those who refuse to have their belongings searched are subject to discipline, including termination.
A lower court had previously sided with Apple, ruling that time spent by employees waiting for the exit searches cannot be considered “hours worked” under California law.
Apple representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.