Apple to pay $30.5 million to store employees for bag searches

William Alsup, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, approved on Monday a settlement between Apple and California-based store employees who are suing the company for compensation for the time they spent checking their bags for security purposes, according to Appleinsider.

A class-action lawsuit filed in 2013 on behalf of 14,683 employees at 52 Apple stores in California alleges that the company violated state law by not paying employees for time spent searching their bags. In turn, the company said that screening employees' bags, due to the company's retail policy, was necessary. In order to make sure that they are not trying to steal electronic devices. Note that after this conflict, the company stopped this practice.

Apple's $30 million employee bag check lawsuit settlement has been approved by a judge

"The Court finds that the Settlement offers significant monetary recovery to all Participating Settlement Class Members, and finds that such recovery is fair, reasonable, and adequate when balanced against the risk of further litigation related to damages issues," Alsup wrote in his approval.

In 2015, a judge granted Apple's motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit. However, the employees appealed his decision, and in 2020 the California Superior Court ruled that Apple must compensate employees for the time they spent checking their bags. The store employee compensation is $30.5 million, the largest amount payable in a search settlement in the state's history.

Recently, Apple is threatening to fire an employee who posted a video on TikTok with basic iPhone security tips. According to Paris Campbell, she was told she violated the company policy. By identifying herself as an Apple employee and posting on Apple-related topics.

The company's social media policy cautions employees against posting about customers, colleagues, or confidential information. But Apple doesn't prohibit employees entirely from posting about the technology.

Campbell, a single mother living in New York, worked at Apple for six years. She currently works as a repair technician at an Apple retail store. Last week, she responded to a girl who lost her iPhone at Coachella and then received threatening text messages. Saying her personal information would be on sale on the black market if she didn't unlink her iPhone from her Apple ID.