Filed under: Apple Corporate, Retail, Bad Apple, Apple
Apple engineers: We're indentured servants
On Monday, a group of Apple technical staffers filed suit against Apple alleging that the company denied them overtime pay and meal compensation. Both the pay and meal compensation are required by California state law. The suit also claims that many Apple employees are subjected to working conditions that are similar to indentured servitude.The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, David Walsh, was an Apple network engineer from 1995 to 2007. He stated that he was often required to work more than 40 hours a week, miss meals, and spend evenings and weekends on call without any overtime pay or meal compensation. [Author's personal comment: this is not unusual in the tech industry]
Walsh alleges that Apple deliberately classified Walsh and others as management employees so that they would not receive overtime compensation as required by California law for hourly employees. The class action suit also seeks to include the staffers at Apple Stores as plaintiffs.
Should the plaintiffs win, Apple could be required to revise its compensation practices and pay retroactive compensation to many present and past employees. Apple has not responded to the complaint.
Thanks to Charles for the tip!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
gconz said 2:06PM on 8-07-2008
Perhaps Apple should relocate out of the People's Republic of Kalifornia to avoid the expenses associated with operating in a worker's paradise.
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caleb said 2:57PM on 8-07-2008
No kidding. Who expects "meal compensation" from their employer?
required said 5:44PM on 8-07-2008
"Both the pay and meal compensation are required by California state law."
Doug said 11:50AM on 8-08-2008
Apple is sitting on $20 billion in cash and can't pay their people? I am sure none of the top execs are suffering. If this was some oil company or walmart, all you fanboys would be howling mad. I love Apple products, but they are a greedy lot. Let's at least be honest about that.
Rob said 12:06PM on 8-11-2008
Dude, I work in California. I have worked in several states, and California is by far the worst state I have ever worked in. This tactic by Apple is the main reason so many companies do business here.
Jake said 2:11PM on 8-07-2008
Let's see. That's pretty much what anyone in any white collar job has done since the 1980's. Especially tech folks.
Boo freakin' hoo.
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anson said 2:16PM on 8-07-2008
Ditto. These guys are in high tech and only want to work 40 hours a week? Dream on.
Hobbes said 2:36PM on 8-07-2008
They better win this as I bet it will be very difficult for any of them to get a good job after this. Specially in the tech area where nobody I know gets overtime, including myself.
Bryan said 2:01AM on 8-08-2008
There's a good chance they'll win the case. The same thing happened to my wife and her co-workers at Disney and they were awarded retro-active pay.
ars_workerbee said 2:24PM on 8-07-2008
As MacUser pointed out a couple days ago...
Indentured servitude?! Like “a vicious circle, in which an indentured servant would become further indebted to their employer, who would forgive the debt in exchange for an extension to the period of their indenture, which could then thereby continue indefinitely”? Walsh was a victim of “violence, abuse, mistreatment and subjugation at the hands of their employers in the homes and fields in which they worked”??
I'm sorry, but if there didn't like it, they could have left whenever they wanted to.
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Gus Jenkins said 2:24PM on 8-07-2008
Newsflash. You didn't have to work there for 12 years.
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register said 2:28PM on 8-07-2008
Gus, I came to post exactly the same thing.
07 MUSTANG said 2:25PM on 8-07-2008
Well that's gonna bring to light a lot of us who do stay late working on call or otherwise .........You cannot be part of a modern business without IT support 24/7 and thus IT professionals should be valued and compensated as such. I for one am very frustrated when IT services are taken for granted. Maybe Apple forgot who it's most valuable assets are.....?
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Shunnabunich said 2:29PM on 8-07-2008
So THAT'S what Apple was saving up all that money for. (Or from.)
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Rick said 2:30PM on 8-07-2008
I never understood lawsuits like this. If you don't like the working conditions at your job....GO WORK FOR SOMEONE ELSE!
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prr said 2:35PM on 8-07-2008
Why do people have to work so freakin' hard? Don't most people get everything done we're actually going to do in the first 6 hours of the day anyway?
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Sean Flanagan said 2:37PM on 8-07-2008
Waaah I work for a living waaah
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Brian said 2:39PM on 8-07-2008
Boo Hoo.
Did you know that while you are boarding an airplane and asking for water and blankets and old ladies are asking me to put their 700 lb bags above their seats, that I am not even on the clock? Nope...not until the door closes. And as soon as the door opens, back off the clock.
Things aren't always fair, but we have choices. YOu dont like the work rules, then go find another job. As for me..I like my 18 days off a month.
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Gizmo said 2:40PM on 8-07-2008
I spent many years in the graphics and IT trade, where 60 hour weeks, and working through weekends, holidays and with no overtime are fairly normal practice. Throughers (24 hours+) aren't uncommon either. I nearly died after falling asleep at the wheel after one such shift. So forgive me if having to work more than 40 hours a week and miss a meal here and there doesn't sound like a bloody holiday camp to me. But I'm in the UK and our employment laws are nothing more than optional suggestions.
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james said 2:40PM on 8-07-2008
wow, so manipulating labor law to get what you want out of somebody is okay? oh, and it's even more okay just because it happened to -ahem - some people and they took it like common curs?
i'm not saying apple did or didn't do anything. i'm suggesting we measure our reactions here. fact is, the work week isn't what it was, or what it was intended to be.
i wonder how many folks who lived under false expectations of the cross of volunteer over-time have great connections with their families or art or life or anything, really...
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