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SAN FRANCISCO — Apple is facing accusations of shortchanging thousands of employees who haven’t been getting paid while being forced to wait in line to show they aren’t trying to steal an iPhone, iPad or other merchandise from the company’s bustling stores.

The complaint filed July 25 in a San Francisco federal court threatens to increase public scrutiny of how Apple Inc.’s treats the lower-paid contractors and employees who make and sell the products that have enriched the Cupertino, Calif., company.

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Much of the attention has focused on whether Apple has done enough to protect the rights of workers assembling its devices in China and in other overseas factories.

But some of the former workers in Apple’s often-packed stores have also complained about being underpaid and overworked.

Those grievances could gather more momentum if the lawsuit filed by two former Apple store employees, Amanda Frlekin and Dean Pelle, is certified as a class-action.