SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On July 1, 2022, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, Stiegler Law Firm LLC, and Robert B. Landry III PLC filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Apple Solutions Consultants nationwide against Apple, Inc. alleging that the company denies them earned overtime and further fails to include all statutorily required forms of compensation in determining the overtime regular rate in violations of 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq. (the Fair Labor Standards Act, or "FLSA").
The Complaint details the plaintiffs Apple Solutions Consultants' allegations that Apple engaged in the unlawful practice of denying them earned overtime by requiring them to begin their workday at home via online videoconferencing then, after these videoconferences were complete, required them to clock out, then travel to their next job assignment without being paid for that time, in violation of the law. The Complaint further alleges that Apple failed to pay the Apple Solutions Consultants for all hours worked, and also failed to include other legally mandated forms of compensation related to the calculation of the proper overtime rates. As alleged, these practices violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 U.S.C. § 201, et seq., and its implementing regulations.
“This is a cut-and-dried failure to pay lawful and adequate compensation,” notes Lieff Cabraser partner Daniel Hutchinson, who represents the employees in the lawsuit. “Apple Solutions Consultants were required to work forty-plus hour work weeks, as well as to travel as part of that work, without the compensation specifically provided for by employee protection laws.”
Apple Solutions Consultants promote the sales of Apple solutions and products in the Apple section of retail store locations throughout the U.S. These Consultants are paid on an hourly basis, and regularly work forty or more hours per week. However, as highlighted in the Complaint, they were not paid overtime for all hours worked over forty in a workweek and, when they were paid overtime, they were not paid at the correct and legally mandated compensation rate.
The Collective is defined in the Complaint as:
All hourly paid employees of Apple, Inc. holding the job title of Solutions Consultant who worked within the three years prior to the date of filing of the Complaint.
“Our clients’ clear rights to overtime wages as employees were ignored, and this lawsuit seeks to redress those offenses and get them the rightfully-earned compensation they are due for their time and efforts on Apple’s behalf,” notes Stiegler Law Firm partner Charles J. Stiegler, who also represents the plaintiffs in the suit.
Due to statues of limitation that can severely curtail employee legal rights, Apple Solutions Consultants who worked for Apple Inc. at any point over the last three years are urged to contact Plaintiffs' Counsel in this new lawsuit immediately for further information about protecting their rights as well as possible recovery for all applicable violations of employment law by Apple.
The action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California and is brought as a collective action under the FLSA to recover unpaid overtime compensation, liquidated damages, statutory penalties, other damages, and fees and costs.
