Judge tosses suit over Apple's employee bag searches
A federal judge in San Francisco has dismissed a class-action lawsuit seeking compensation for the time Apple employees spent while undergoing exit searches of their bags at retail stores in California.
The employees had sued under California law requiring a minimum wage for all work hours, defined by California courts as time subject to the control of the employer. In a Nov. 7 decision (PDF), U.S. District Judge William Alsup said the employees had not proven one of the elements of this control theory of liability: that there is no plausible way to avoid the employer’s action.
In this case, Alsup said, the employees could have avoided the checks of bags by choosing not to bring any items to work subject to the search rule. ComputerWorld, BloombergBusiness, the Register and Reuters have stories.
The employees had pursued their claims under federal as well as state laws. The federal claims were dismissed after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in December 2014 against warehouse workers seeking compensation for security screenings under the FairLabor Standards Act. Claims filed under states laws other than California’s were also dismissed because the laws mirrored the FSLA.
Lee Shalov, a lawyer for the Apple workers, told BloombergBusiness that the plaintiffs “are disappointed in the court’s ruling and are exploring their options, including an appeal.”
The case is Frlekin v. Apple Inc.
