August 7th, 2008
Apple sued for ... slavery?!?!!
I’m having a really hard time getting my head around this:
A LAWSUIT filed Monday in California seeks class action status alleging that Apple denied technical staffers required overtime pay and meal compensation in violation of state law.
…
Lead plaintiff David Walsh was employed by Apple as a network engineer from 1995 until 2007. His complaint says he was often required to work more than 40 hours per week, miss meals, and spend his evenings and even entire weekends on call without any overtime pay or meal compensation. He fielded technical support calls that often came after 11 pm.
This case is a real deal (I had my doubts - court filings here and here). The complaint claims that Apple misleadingly classified Walsh and other workers as management employees in order to avoid having to pay them overtime. The complaint claims that working conditions resembled indentured servitude.
Not sure if I buy that whole indentured servitude bit, sounds a little over the top to me. Also, the working conditions described don’t sound all that bad, or different to what other salaried tech employees receive, to me.
Thoughts?
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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