Retail Employees Sue Apple

Apple finds itself facing a class action suit from its retail workers-- a pair of Apple Store employees claim they lost up to $1500 in unpaid overtime yearly due to too frequent bag searches.

AppleAccording to former employees Amanda Frlekin and Dean Pelle (who worked in New York and Los Angeles stores respectively) Apple demands bag searches whenever a worker leaves the premises on lunch hours and at the end of the day. Supposedly an anti-theft measure, the “personal package and bag search” policy apparently demands 5-10 minutes of "off-the-clock" daily waiting, adding up up to $1500 a year in unpaid overtime (Apple pays $18.75 an hour).

Such a sum might not sound like much when one takes the profits Apple makes into consideration-- but since bag searches are a company-wide procedure Apple faces a potential liability worth $45 million at the face of its 30000 retail workers spread across the globe.

Apple does not provide comment on the lawsuit as yet.

Speaking of employees, the iPhone maker faces further labour woes elsewhere-- workers-rights group China Labour Watch claims fresh abuses at "major" parts supplier Pegatron, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the organisation Pegatron and two subsidiaries breaks safety and environmental regulations, withholds worker pay or ID cards (required to work elsewhere) and provides poor living conditions in W. China-based factories.

Such breaches violate both Chinese law and Apple supplier policy.

An Apple statement says the company is "committed to providing safe and fair working conditions throughout our supply chain," having conducted 15 "comprehensive" audits at Pegatron facilities since 2007.

Apple shifted iPad mini (and supposed cheaper iPhone) orders from Foxconn to Pegatron in 2012 as it looked to diversify suppliers. The company was forced to amend supplier workplace policies on March 2012, following the finding of widespread abuses at 3 Foxconn plants.

Go Apple Employee Class Action Suit

Go Worker Group Alleges Abuses at Apple Supplier in China