An Apple search each day keeps employees in pay

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeal (whose rulings apply to all California employers) recently faced the novel question of whether California law requires an employer to pay employees for the time it takes to perform a bag search. The court of appeal ultimately referred the matter to the California Supreme Court for resolution.

Company's bag check policy

Apple Inc. requires its retail store employees to sign an "employee package and bag searches" policy that states:

All personal packages and bags must be checked by a manager or security before leaving the store. . . . All employees, including managers and Market Support employees, are subject to personal package and bag searches. . . . Failure to comply with this policy may lead to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

A guidance memo clarifies that "all Apple employees, including Campus employees, are subject to personal package checks upon exiting the store for any reason (break, lunch, end of shift)." Under the policy, managers must open every bag, briefcase, or purse; remove any type of item that Apple sells; and verify the serial number to make sure it's a personal item. Apple reserves the right to hold the item until it can verify that the employee owns it.