09/19/2013 // Keller Grover LLP (Press Release) // Keller Grover, LLP // (press release)
Technology giant, Apple Inc., is facing a lawsuit from two former employees seeking class action status, claiming they were stiffed overtime pay as a result of waiting in long security bag checks long after they had clocked out. The lawsuit was filed on July 25, 2013 in federal court in San Francisco for “millions of dollars,” reports Bay Area wage and hour lawyer Eric Grover of Keller Grover, LLP.
The lawsuit, filed by former Apple employees Amanda Frlekin of Los Angeles and Dean Pelle of Brooklyn, N.Y., asserts that Apple violated the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by not compensating them for waiting time while they stood in line to have their bags checked after they had clocked out and ended their shift or were going on break.
Under the FLSA, “employers must compensate all nonexempt employees at a rate of not less than one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for work performed in excess of 40 hours a week.”
Frlekin, who was paid $12.10 to $15.60 an hour while employed at Apple’s Century City retail store from August 2010 to April 2013, claims when she would clock out to take her uncompensated meal breaks and at the end of her shift, she would have to stand in line for at least five to 10 minutes to have her bag checked. Over the course of her employment with Apple, her waiting time reached 50 minutes to 1.5 hours a week, which totals $1,500 in unpaid wages over a year.
Pelle says he endured similar security checks while working in Apple stores in Atlanta, West Palm Beach, Fla., and New York City. Pelle, who was paid an hourly rate of $18.75, says he is owed $1,400 in uncompensated wages from Apple.
In addition to the FLSA violation, the plaintiffs claim Apple violated the California Labor Code for nonpayment of minimum wage, overtime wages and wage statement penalties.
Frlekin and Pelle are seeking to expand their employment lawsuit into a class action to include Apple retail employees who have worked for the tech giant over the last three years.
“When mandatory security measures are part of the job, employees should be compensated for the time it takes to complete this task before taking breaks and leaving at the end of their shift,” says San Francisco wage and hour lawyer Eric Grover. “Wage theft occurs in many forms, and if these allegations are true, for these Apple employees it was due to mandatory unpaid security checks. It’s important that you stand up for your rightfully owed wages, regardless of what a retail store’s policy may be.”
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