Alleged Labor Violations Lead to Class-Action Suit Against Apple

On Tuesday, the California Superior Court certified a case filled by four Apple employees in 2011 as a class action, potentially affecting 20,000 current and former Apple employees in the state. The plaintiffs, represented by the firm Hogue & Belong in San Diego, claim that the tech giant did not provide its employees in California “timely meal breaks, timely rest breaks, and timely final paychecks according to California’s Labor Code and Wage Orders.” As reported by TechCrunch, the accusations made against Apple vary in degree and magnitude: One person cites a five-hour working stint without a break, for example, while another refers to a 72-hour notice period and getting a final paycheck two days after that ended (two days late). This is not the first time Apple has been hit with a class action lawsuit. In April, the company, along with Silicon Valley brethren Google, Intel, and Adobe, settled a case for $324 million in response to accusations from high-tech workers that the companies conspired to hold down salaries by agreeing not to poach each other’s employees. Meanwhile, the company continues to prosper: It reported $7.7 billion in net profits during the third quarter of FY 2014 alone.