Apple hit with class-action lawsuit over bag searches ordered on its store employees

Apple is facing another lawsuit, but this time its been filed by two of its store employees. U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco has now certified that the class-action lawsuit can move forward against Apple, which claims that the company’s policy to search the bags of store workers when they leave the premises is demeaning and embarrassing to employees.

According to Reuters, the plaintiffs in the case now represent over 12,000 current and former Apple Store employees in California now that the class-action lawsuit can officially move forward:

Plaintiffs Amanda Frlekin and Dean Pelle alleged that “screenings” or bag searches, designed to discourage theft, are conducted every time sales reps leave the store, including for meal breaks. Lawsuits from within Apple’s ranks are rare. One worker, whose name was blacked out of a court filing, told Cook in a 2012 message that Apple managers “are required to treat ‘valued’ employees as criminals.”

Before today’s court ruling, Apple tried to argue that the lawsuit should not receive class-action status because not all of its store manages conducted bag search. It also claimed that the amount of time taken for each search was not enough to deserve any compensation to those workers. Apple would not comment on the judge’s ruling.

Source: Reuters