Apple Facing Class Action Lawsuit From 20,000 Employees Over Alleged Labor Code Violations

Apple is facing a class action lawsuit in California over a number of alleged Labor Code violations, with the company being accused of not providing timely meal breaks, timely rest breaks, and timely final paychecks, reports TechCrunch.

Plaintiffs bring this Class Action against Defendants to recover for, among other things, failure to provide meal and rest periods, failure to furnish accurate itemized wage statements, and failure to pay timely wages on the end of employment, interest, attorneys' fees, penalties, costs, and expenses on behalf of themselves, the Plaintiff Class, and the Plaintiff Subclasses.

Originally filed in December of 2011 by four former Apple retail and corporate employees in San Diego, the lawsuit was certified as class action yesterday and could affect up to 20,000 current and former Apple employees in the state of California.

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According to the filing, which demands a jury trial, employee complaints cover a wide range of possible labor code violations. One complaint, for example, cites employees having to work for five hours straight without a meal break, while another complaint suggests that Apple took several weeks to send out a final check to multiple employees.

The lawsuit asks for compensatory damages and restitution of all monies due to affected employees from unlawful business practices, along with interest, but it does not specify a damages amount.

Along with this new class action lawsuit, Apple is embroiled in a class action lawsuit with Apple retail employees who allege that Apple's bag checking policies have resulted in lost wages, a suit that also accuses Apple of violating state labor laws.

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Top Rated Comments

horsebattery Avatar
143 months ago
Winey FN b****es. Be thankful you don't live in an impoverished nation or war torn country.
Try working in china.
Lost wages? You mean like how my Apple store manager sister have caught and fired employees stealing stuff in their bags?
Five whole hours without a break? Poor babies. Those of us who routinely go 8+ without one really feel for them....
5 hours without a meal break :eek: that would be 7am-noon?! :rolleyes:
Ungrateful. Apple at least gave them a job, in this economy.
Wow, no meal for 5 hours?? What's the world coming to??

Such an overly litigious society made up of ungrateful cry babies.
The amount of comments here disregarding the employees' claims here is staggering. Putting aside that labor laws exist for a reason, it's laughable that these allegations are simply put down so easily. Did [those that commented that way] even bother to read through the story? Or is this one of those cases where the blame would be piled on other companies other than Apple? :rolleyes:

Edit: Added the quotes. Holy crap they just keep coming.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
RedOrchestra Avatar
143 months ago
WOW ... the Apple "can do no wrong" fanboys are now into dissing the retail employees - doesn't get much lower than that.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joelist Avatar
143 months ago
Five whole hours without a break? Poor babies. Those of us who routinely go 8+ without one really feel for them....
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Atlantico Avatar
143 months ago
I find it highly disturbing that people think their personal experience or opinion on the law changes the merit of the law.

So your rights were abused and you didn't complain. Whoopdeedoo for you.

Smart people demand their rights. The rest are just losers. :p
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
unobtainium Avatar
143 months ago
These claims sound ridiculous. I don't sympathize with Apple employees at all. I have worked at Target for a couple of years and let me tell you I prefer to have not taken my meal break if they just leave me alone and not yell at me for making sure my department was properly zoned at the end of the night. 5 hrs and no break? Sorry Apple sweeties but just about every restaurant I've worked at has forced their servers, bus boys, and cooks to work without a break until the very end of their shift. That's life. You should be privileged to be standing behind a desk and looked up to for advice by customers and only have to deal with one at a time. Try working for Target where during the holidays you have to pick up the phone, try to cash out customers, and not have their kids opening boxes or steal. Ugh, Apple employees and their first world probs.

I really despise people who want everyone else to be as miserable as them. The fact that your job sucks really has no bearing on whether or not Apple needs to follow labor laws. Your company needs to follow labor laws too. Why should Apple get a pass if they're breaking some laws? Because you're miserable at your job?
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iCore24 Avatar
143 months ago
You would think a company with 170 billion dollars in the bank and makes a butt load of money every quarter would pay and treat there employees very generous$$$
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)