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Apple Faces NLRB Complaint Over Employee Rights Violations
The U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has accused Apple of violating workers’ rights by restricting their ability to use social media and workplace messaging platforms like Slack for collective advocacy aimed at improving working conditions. This development was announced on Friday.
The complaint, filed on Thursday, alleges that Apple enforced unlawful policies regarding the use of Slack, illegally dismissed an employee who championed workplace changes through the platform, compelled another worker to delete a social media post, and created an environment in which employees felt they were being monitored online.
This marks the second complaint the NLRB has issued against Apple within the same month. Earlier, the organization accused the tech giant of requiring its employees to sign invalid confidentiality, nondisclosure, and noncompete agreements, alongside imposing overly broad misconduct and social media guidelines.
In response, an Apple spokesperson stated that the company is dedicated to fostering “a positive and inclusive workplace” and takes all employee concerns seriously. The statement emphasized, “We strongly disagree with these claims and will continue to share the facts at the hearing.”
Regarding last week’s complaint, Apple maintained its position, declaring that it respects workers’ rights to engage in discussions concerning wages, hours, and work conditions.
Should Apple choose not to reach a settlement with the NLRB, an administrative judge is set to conduct an initial hearing in February. The decisions made by this judge will be subject to review by a five-member labor board, and such rulings can be appealed in federal court.
The foundation of the current complaint dates back nearly three years when Janneke Parrish filed a grievance with the NLRB, asserting that Apple terminated her employment in 2021 due to her prominent role in employee activism. Parrish utilized Slack and various public social media channels to advocate for permanent remote work options, distribute a pay equity survey, highlight instances of alleged discrimination based on sex and race at Apple, and publish open letters criticizing the company.
Slack, which allows employees to engage in group discussions, was introduced at Apple several years ago and gained significant traction as a platform for communication during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NLRB complaint points out that Apple has a policy prohibiting workers from creating new Slack channels without managerial approval, mandating that discussions about workplace issues must be addressed to a manager or a designated “People Support” group.
Laurie Burgess, Parrish’s attorney, indicated in an email that Apple has committed “extensive violations” of workers’ rights. She expressed optimism about holding Apple accountable, stating, “We look forward to holding Apple accountable at trial for implementing facially unlawful rules and terminating employees for engaging in the core protected activity of calling out gender discrimination and other civil rights violations that permeated the workplace.”
The complaint requests an order for Apple to revoke its purportedly illegal policies and to compensate Parrish for lost wages and other financial repercussions of her dismissal.
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