Are Apple Store Employees Being Treated Poorly?

Apple CEO Tim Cook may have just been named one of the 10 Best CEO's by Glassdoor, but the company is under fire after documents in an ongoing 2013 lawsuit reveal employee grievances that show a not-so-great side to the tech behemoth. According to CNN Money, previously sealed emails expose complaints of unpaid wages during the time employees were forced to wait while their belongings were searched by management. And that's just the beginning. The lawsuit revealed an email sent to Tim Cook from an Apple Store employee in April 2012. In it, the employee describes a typical procedure for theft prevention: Apple Store employees must keep track of their personal Apple devices via an issued serial number. That sounds pretty standard, right? When employees leave the store, however, a bag check is also performed, after the employees had clocked out. "These procedures imply that Apple doesn't trust or respect their employees," the person wrote. "Managers are required to treat 'valued' employees as criminals." CNN reports that the lawsuit also claims that checks were often performed in front of "gawking customers," resulted in lost wages, and needed to be updated ASAP. We totally understand the need for loss prevention in business—iPhones aren't cheap—but there's no reason to demean your employees in the process. Take them in the back to search their bags. Maybe, just trust them? Or, how about taking a lesson from Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, philosophy: "The way you treat your employees is the way they'll treat your customers." Preach.