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Officials with the National Labor Relations Board have reviewed complaints from two former employees and found that Apple violated U.S. labor laws through various workplace rules and executive statements. I decided. NLRB officials plan to file a formal complaint against Apple unless the company and the former employee who complained about Apple’s focus on secrecy come to a settlement.
A spokesperson for the NLRB told Ars today that the Labor Relations Commission’s local office said, “Various labor rules, handbook rules, and confidentiality rules at Apple violate Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act. We have determined that there are justifiable grounds for the four charges that he claims to have committed.” tend to reasonably hinder, inhibit or coerce employees in exercising their rights to protected joint activities. “
According to the NLRB statement, the local office also said it “admitted a charge that alleges that Apple’s statements and actions, including those of its senior executives, also violated the National Labor Relations Act.” This is apparently a reference to an email in which Apple CEO Tim Cook warned employees not to divulge confidential information.
As The New York Times wrote, the NLRB’s findings were “contributed by two former Apple employees: Ashley Gjovik, who was Apple’s engineering program manager for six years, and Cher Scarlett, the company’s security engineer. It was in response to five complaints filed in late 2021. Team…Both women were involved in an activist group called #AppleToo that was collecting accounts of abuse, harassment and retaliation at the company. was doing.”
The former employee “accuses the company of trying to prevent the group from collecting wage data from its employees, including through harassment,” adding that “the company’s work rules do not allow discussions about wages, hours, and conditions of employment.” I said I couldn’t,” he said. NYT story.
According to Reuters, Gjovik’s complaint states that “various Apple rules, including those related to confidentiality and oversight policies, prevent employees from discussing issues such as pay equity and gender discrimination with each other and the media. It’s discouraging,” he claimed. “Gjovik also cited emails from Apple CEO Tim Cook in 2021 that he allegedly attempted to stop workers from speaking to the press, saying, ‘Someone leaking sensitive information. does not belong here.’
NLRB urges parties to settle
We have contacted Apple about the NLRB findings. We will update this article if we hear back from Apple.
The local office’s finding that prosecution is warranted is not an NLRB ruling, but could lead to formal prosecution against Apple. The NLRB statement said, “If the parties do not come to a settlement, the regional director may file a complaint and prosecute this charge at a hearing with an administrative law judge, who may order relief.”
Decisions of the administrative law judges can be appealed to the Board, and decisions of the Board can be appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal.
The standard NLRB process requires an agency to assist the parties in reaching an agreement. “If the NLRB investigation finds sufficient evidence to support the allegations, every effort will be made to facilitate a settlement between the parties. The NLRB web page explains.
