Court rules Apple must pay California workers during bag checks

LOS ANGELES — The California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Apple must pay employees for time spent waiting for their bags and personal electronic devices to be searched when they leave work.

The decision means that the tech giant will have to pay millions of dollars to more than 12,000 hourly workers at California retail stores who fall under the mandatory bag-search policy.

According to court documents, Apple employees are required to clock out before submitting to an exit search which can take from five to 20 minutes.

On the busiest days, employees say the wait time can be as long as 45 minutes. Those who refuse to have their belongings searched are subject to discipline, including termination.

A lower court had previously sided with Apple, ruling that time spent by employees waiting for the exit searches cannot be considered "hours worked" under California law.

The plaintiffs escalated the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which asked the Supreme Court to address the state law issue.

The state's high court in its decision issued on Thursday rejected Apple's argument that its employees could easily avoid a search by choosing not to bring a bag or iPhone to work.

Quoting from a US Supreme Court decision, it noted that cell phones are "now such a pervasive and insistent part of daily life that the proverbial visitor from Mars might conclude they were an important feature of human anatomy."

"The irony and inconsistency of Apple's argument must be noted," the court added.

"Its characterization of the iPhone as unnecessary for its own employees is directly at odds with its description of the iPhone as an 'integrated and integral' part of the lives of everyone else."

Apple representatives could not immediately be reached for comment on the ruling.

The Apple case is the third the state high court has considered in recent years as related to minimum wage and time during which workers are under employers' control.

In 2018, the court ruled that Starbucks has to pay for off-the-clock work -- such as going through the checklist for closing the store -- that can last a few seconds or minutes past someone's shift.

Agence France-Presse

Ateneo Continues Bar Dominance

MANILA, Philippines — Ateneo de Manila asserted its dominance in the Bar examinations, producing its third topnotcher in five years.

In the results of the 2011 Bar examinations released by the Supreme Court Wednesday, Atenean Raoul Angelo D. Atadero had the highest grade – 85.5363 percent. Ateneans also topped the Bar exams in 2007 and 2010.

The second and eighth placers in the 2011 exams are also from Ateneo. A total of 1,913 out of the 5,987 examinees who took the tests passed, or 31.95 percent, Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, chief of the Supreme Court Public Information Office, said the number is the “second highest rate in the millennium.”

Also landing in the Top 10 are Luz Danielle O. Bolong, 2nd place, ADMU; Cherry Liez O. Rafal-Roble, 3rd place, Arellano University; Rosemil R. Banaga, 4th place, Notre Dame University; Christian Louie C. Gonzales, University of Santo Tomas, 5th place; Ivan M. Bandal, 6th place, Silliman University; Eireene Xina M. Acosta, 7th place, San Beda College; Irene Marie P. Qua, 8th place, ADMU; Elaine Marie G. Laceda, 9th place, Far Eastern University-DLSU; Rodolfo Q. Aquino, 10th place, San Beda College.

Atadero, the valedictorian of his class, and Bolong are new associates of Puno and Puno Law Offices. They joined the firm in February.

Supreme Court Justice Roberto A. Abad, chairman of the 2001 bar examinations committee, said the passers will take their oath as new lawyers on March 21 at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Abad said the passers may secure their clearances from the Supreme Court’s office of the Bar confidant during office hours Monday to Friday, starting Thursday.

source: mb.com.ph

Palace exec: Corona's acceptance of P10-M discount could be in violation of New Code of Judicial Conduct

A Malacanang official on Tuesday said impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona’s acceptance of a P10-million discount for the purchase of a posh condominium in Taguig City could be in violation of the New Code of Judicial Conduct.

"Nakalagay [doon] na hindi po pwedeng tumanggap ng kahit anong regalo, donasyon, utang, discount, gratuity," deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said at a press briefing.

Valte was referring to Section 13 of the Canon 4 (Propriety) of the code which states: "Judges and members of their families shall neither ask for, nor accept, any gift, bequest, loan or favor in relation to anything done or to be done or omitted to be done by him or her in connection with the performance of judicial duties."

Asked if there is sanction on judges or justices who violate the code, Valte said it is up to the SC to determine the sanction.

"The SC is the one that determines the sanction for errant judges who are alleged to have committed violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct. However, SC Justices are subject to impeachment as mandated by the 1987 Constitution," she said.

Valte said the officials in the executive department, the President in particular, are very careful in accepting gifts.

"The president is also not in the habit of accepting (gifts) kasi bawal po talaga e. In fact, the President po tumatanggap ng regalo sa kanyang mga kapamilya kapag birthday niya which is malapit na at pag Pasko, mga small family occasions," she said.

In addition, Valte added the Department of Budget and Management has a policy of not accepting gifts brought to the office.

"In DBM nga po me policy sila na pag me nagdadala ng regalo sa department hindi na tinatanggap ng guard, hindi ho pinapapasok. We are quite strict also about receiving gifts," Valte said.

She said the issue about the discount should be further pressed "dahil maraming nagtataka na 40 percent yung discount."

The President’s spokesperson said it is now up to the defense panel to explain the issue.

"I suppose we will have to wait for the turn of the defense to counter the allegations that were brought up yesterday. Ang sabi ng witness 15 to 20 percent yung normally binibigay, it came from the mouth of the witness so it’s their standard policy to give out 15 to 20 discount on such purchases. If it’s usual, it’s up to them to explain why they gave a higher than the usual discount," she said.

During Monday’s impeachment trial, Megaworld finance director Giovanni Ng said one of the penthouses at Bellagio was sold to Corona and his wife at a bigger discount because of some technical and finishing issues with the unit.

A spokesperson for the defense, lawyer Tranquil Salvador III, said the discount given to Corona was a "regular marketing practice" and not a sole privilege given to the chief magistrate.

"As a matter of regular marketing practice po kaya binigyan ng discount si Chief Justice. Ang usual arrangement nga po [ng discount] ayon na rin sa witness [Ng] ay 15% to 20%," Salvador told reporters after Tuesday's trial. — Amita Legaspi/RSJ, GMA News

source:gmanetwork.com

FilAm named as California SC chief gains unanimous nod

CHICAGO – The Commission on Judicial Appointment unanimously confirmed on Wednesday the nomination of Justice Tani Gorres Cantil-Sakauye for Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court.

Matt Connelly, deputy press secretary of the office of the California governor, said the three-member Commission on Judicial Appointments, composed of current Chief Justice Ronald George, Court of Appeals Justice Joan Dempsey Klein ad Attorney General Jerry Brown, confirmed Cantil-Sakauye.

Cantil-Sakauye was earlier nominated by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace Chief Justice George, who is retiring on January 2, 2011.

In light of the confirmation of her nomination, Cantil-Sakauye’s name will be placed on the November ballot unopposed.

If approved by voters, she will serve a 12-year term to become the first Filipina-American, and the youngest, Chief Justice in the history of the California Supreme Court.

In a statement following her confirmation, Schwarzenegger said, “Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye is immensely qualified to be the next Chief Justice of California and I applaud the Commission for its unanimous confirmation vote."

“She is an experienced jurist, who has the respect of her peers in the court, and she possesses administrative and legal skills that make her uniquely qualified to lead California’s judicial branch. Justice Cantil-Sakauye understands that the role of a Justice is to administer the law, not to create law, and for that reason I am absolutely convinced she will be a fair and prudent Chief Justice of California," he added.

The confirmation hearing was held across along McAllister St. across the California Supreme Court and was the first hearing to be broadcast throughout the whole state.

Sacramento-based Cantil-Sakauye, 50, earned a juris doctorate from the University of California, a law degree from the Davis School of Law and an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Davis.

Since 2005, Cantil-Sakauye has served as an associate justice for the Third District Court of Appeals in Sacramento. Previously, she was a superior court judge of the Sacramento County Superior Court from 1997 to 2004 and a municipal court judge of the Sacramento County Municipal Court from 1990 to 1997.

Cantil-Sakauye is a member of the California Judicial Council and of the Commission on Impartial Courts. She is the chair of the Judicial Branch Financial Accountability and Efficiency Advisory Committee, and president of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court.

Currently one of only two women, and one of only two persons of color, in the Court of Appeal’s Third District, she was the first woman of Asian ethnicity to serve as judge in Sacramento County. She was then one of the youngest judges in the state at 31.

She is married to Sacramento Police Lieutenant Mark Sakauye, and has two daughters: Hana, 14, and Claire, 11.

Before Cantil-Sakauye, the late Benjamin Menor, a native of Ilocos Norte, was the first Filipino-American to be appointed in a state’s highest judiciary as justice of the Hawaii State Supreme Court. —LBG, GMANews.TV

source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/199655/filam-named-as-california-sc-chief-gains-unanimous-nod