France Apple Stores: No More After Hour Work at France Apple Stores

France Apple Stores: Although long hours may be nothing new in the retail industry, it appears that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has found itself in hot water because of this. A Paris court has hit the Cupertino-based company with a fine while also implementing new regulations to eliminate after hour work in France.

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The AFP was the first to report this story, and you can read the entire story here.

For those who don’t speak French, CNET did a good job breaking down the story and supplying information on what this means to Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stores in France moving forward.

Here is what you need to know:

“The Paris Court awarded the unions that sued Apple 10,000 euros ($13,005) for its alleged violations. The court said that in some Apple stores in France, the company was asking employees to work past the 9 p.m. local time curfew in violation of the country’s labor laws.”

In the United States, this may never come into play. However, every country has its own laws and it appears that Apple has broken these in France.

Here is some more information from CNET, explaining the way the law works in France:

“France bans companies from making employees work between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless those activities are necessary to maintain economic success or they provide a social service. Although Apple’s stores close at 9 p.m. in France to accommodate that regulation, the labor unions that sued the company argued that it forced employees to clean up and close down the store after 9 p.m. That meant some employees didn’t actually leave work until as late as 11 p.m.

At this time, it is thought that seven Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stores in France violated the law.

What are your thoughts on this? Is the company going to find itself in more trouble in the near future, maybe in other countries? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Check back here for more updates on France Apple Stores.

DISCLOSURE: I have no positions in any stock mentioned.

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