LOS ANGELES — After the recent Supreme Court decision rejecting Amazon warehouse employees’ claims for overtime pay for time spent in post-shift security screenings, a California district court judge has dismissed two similar claims brought against Apple. In June 2014, the district court judge declined to dismiss the two Apple overtime pay lawsuits while the Amazon warehouse case was still before the Supreme Court. As such, the two cases were put on hold until the Supreme Court’s decision was released.
The Two Apple Claims
The Apple retail employees in the two lawsuits were seeking back pay for the time they spent in anti-theft screenings, or bag checks. The employees were required to undergo the bag checks at the end of their shifts and before their meal breaks when they left the company’s premises. Apple required the retail employees to clock out prior to undergoing the bag checks. The Apple employees estimated and alleged the company owed each of their employees around $1,400 in overtime for time spent in unpaid security screenings over the course of a year.
Apple, on the other hand, claimed the retail employees were not entitled to wages or overtime for the time they spent in the bag check screenings. The company reasoned that the screenings were only required if the employee brought in a bag or Apple device into the store. The employees could avoid the searches and, therefore, the screenings were neither mandatory nor were they essential to the employees’ job requirements. Amazon made similar arguments and the Supreme Court agreed.
“Integral and Indispensable” And Overtime
The key factor in both the Amazon and Apple cases was that the screenings were not “integral and indispensable” to the principle activities the employees were hired to perform. In order for a pre- or post-shift activity, like bag checks, to receive mandatory compensation, the activity now appears to need to be directly related to the activities the employees perform. For instance, bag checks are not directly related to the retail sale of an employer’s products, except that it reduces potential losses. However, pre- and post-shift changing into and out of required protective gear for employees working with food or chemicals is directly related to and therefore “integral and indispensable” to the employee’s safe processing of the food or chemical. Unlike the time spent in bag checks, the time spent donning and doffing protective gear would receive compensation, including any earned overtime.
If your employer requires off-the-clock activities pre or post-shift, you may be entitled to back wages or overtime. Determining if pre- or post-shift activities are compensable can be very detail specific. Call our top-rated team of overtime pay lawyers to discuss your options today at (855) 754-2795. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement.