Apple maintains workplace policies that unlawfully prevent employees from speaking out about working conditions, a U.S. employment agency has found.
The National Labor Relations Board will file a grievance targeting the policies and claims Apple Executives made comments that if the company doesn’t settle first, they would hinder workers’ organizing, an agency official said in an email verified by Reuters on Monday.
The official had sent the email to Ashley Gjovik, a former Apple senior engineering manager who filed complaints against the company in 2021.
The NLRB investigates complaints by workers and unions and decides whether to file formal complaints against companies. The agency can seek to overturn workplace policies and require employers to notify workers of violations.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment. The company has said it takes workers’ complaints seriously and investigates them thoroughly.
An NLRB spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gjovik said in an email on Tuesday that she hopes the development will spur more Apple employees to speak out about working conditions and organize.
In her complaints, Gjovik said that various Apple rules, including those related to confidentiality and surveillance policies, prevent employees from discussing issues such as equal pay and gender discrimination with each other and with the media.
Gjovik also cited a 2021 email from Apple CEO Tim Cook that allegedly tried to block workers from speaking to the press, saying: “People who are giving out confidential information don’t belong here. “
Many technology companies have strict confidentiality policies to protect trade secrets.
US labor law prohibits policies that could prevent workers from exercising their right to organize to improve working conditions.
Apple faces multiple pending NLRB complaints, including one alleging the tech giant unlawfully asked workers at an Atlanta retail store to attend anti-union meetings. Apple has denied wrongdoing.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
