Apple is paying out $30M to retail employees over bag searches

Apple is preparing to pay out up to $30 million dollars to current and former Apple Store employees who worked for the company between July 2009 and August 2015.

A new page on Apple.com titled Apple Bag Check Class Action Settlement provides details of how class members can get part of the settlement. Current and former employees of Apple who worked at an Apple retail store in California between July 25, 2009, and August 10, 2015, are eligible to receive compensation.

The case is limited to California but it could expand to other states as suits are filed. The court ruled in 2021 that Apple is liable for regular and overtime wages related to “time spent waiting for and participating in bag checks and checks of their personally-owned Apple technology.” Apple outlawed the practice in 2015.

Eligible employees don’t have to do anything to receive a settlement check. The amount of payment is based on the number of shifts worked during the class period and will vary for each employee. A Final Approval Hearing is scheduled for July 7.