So my employer makes us get bag checks before we leave to store !

I don't know enough about the circumstances at your place of employment to be able to offer an opinion whether you have a reasonable expectation of privacy sufficient enough to prevent your employer from searching through your purse. It would require a very good reason, with no other reasonable alternatives, to enable an employer to do this. However, assuming you are still under the control of the employer and not permitted to leave after you clock out, you should still be compensated for the time you must wait for permission to leave. I think you need to see an employment lawyer about this practice and for a more informed opinion as to whether your right to privacy is being violated. You can find attorneys in your area by either using the Find a Lawyer function here on or by going to the website for the California Employment Lawyers Association at www.cela.org and clicking on "Member Search" on the menu.

Your facts are a bit nebulous. Attorney Kirschbaum is correct that a key issue is whether you have a reasonable expectation of privacy to prevent your employer from searching purses and bags. The fact that the employer is not permitting employees to leave after clocking out is problematic. Employees ought to be compensated for such time. You'll need to consult with an employment lawyer about what is going on at your workplace.

This practice is almost universal in retail. It probably does violate some privacy rights, but you are free to stand on your privacy rights by not accepting employment there. In most cases, the employer offers employees a number of alternatives. First, of course, is the self-evident proposition that you do not need to bring a bag or any personal possessions to work. You can leave all personal property at home or in your car. Second, most retail employers do not check bags if the bag is a transparent material such as plastic or net. I question whether the fact that these readily-available alternatives, publicized to the workforce, affect the legal analysis of required pay for time spent bag-checking if the employees voluntarily bring personal property to the worksite not in transparent bags. However, it will not take more than one administrative complaint where the employer is ordered to pay the time for the alternative to become a mandatory work rule: No personal property at the worksite except in plastic transparent bags.