A lawsuit brought by Apple retail employees over off-the-clock bag checks was dismissed by a U.S. federal judge in San Francisco on Saturday, relieving the company of a payout that could have totaled $60 million by some estimates.
"Rather than prohibiting employees from bringing bags and personal Apple devices into the store altogether, Apple took a milder approach to theft prevention and offered its employees the option to bring bags and personal Apple devices into a store subject to the condition that such items must be searched when they leave the store," said U.S. District Judge William Alsup,
according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
The case ruling could have affected as many as 12,400 former and current employees from 52 stores who may have undergone the searches, which the lawsuit called "demoralizing."
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case brought by Amazon.com Inc. warehouse workers that time spent in post-shift security searches is not subject to compensation under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. Thus, Apple's workers brought their case under California law.
"Plaintiffs are disappointed in the court’s ruling and are exploring their options, including an appeal," said Lee Shalov, a lawyer for the workers.
The case was first brought in 2013, and "has been considerably whittled down since,"
PC World reported.
Alsup granted the lawsuit class-action status in July.
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