Apple Under Fire for Violating Labor Laws & Restricting Employee Communication

The US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has filed a complaint against Apple for allegedly restricting its employees’ communication and stopping them from asking for better working conditions.
Another major allegation in the complaint is that Apple unlawfully fired an employee for supporting the #AppleToo movement.
The company has denied all these allegations and promised to defend itself in the trial set for February 2025.

Apple is under the radar of authorities once again. This time, it’s the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

A complaint was filed on Thursday last week accusing Apple of intentionally stopping its employees from grouping up and advocating for better working conditions. This includes placing restrictions on their social media usage and Slack (the messaging platform used by businesses for internal communication).

Reports suggest that Apple employees are also prohibited from creating new Slack channels without seeking approval from their manager. Plus, if the employees have anything to say against the company, they need to direct it through a manager or the official “People Support” group.

All these steps heavily restrict freedom of speech and have been widely criticized by Apple employees. Not just that, but these actions are also, simply put, outright unlawful.

In addition to this, one of the key issues mentioned in the complaint is the firing of Janneke Parrish in 2021. She was an important figure in the #AppleToo movement. The company claimed that she leaked confidential information.

However, Parrish denied these allegations and said that she was dismissed because she spoke out against the company.

Her fight in the #AppleToo movement was discovered after she used Slack to talk about demanding permanent work-from-home options and shared her concerns about some of the company’s internal policies, especially those that allegedly foster discrimination and pay inequality.

What Does Apple Have to Say About This?
Apple has denied all the allegations and said that it’s committed to creating and maintaining a healthy work culture. It also assured that every employee’s feedback is extremely valuable to it, and it takes every concern seriously, investigating them as needed.

It’s worth noting that Apple also denied firing Parrish for speaking against the company. However, Parrish’s attorney, Laurie Burgess, isn’t going down without a fight. She has expressed their decision to hold Apple accountable for every unlawful act.

Therefore, the only way to settle this matter now is through the trial set for February 2025. If Apple loses the case, it will have to compensate Parrish for her poor treatment and for the financial hardship she went through after her dismissal. What’s more, Apple will also have to tweak its workplace policies.

Another Ongoing Legal Battle
This isn’t the only complaint from the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Apple. In a separate case, Apple has been accused of “enforcing overly broad non-disclosure and non-compete agreements” and restricting the social media usage of its employees with unnecessarily strict guidelines. Apple has denied this claim as well.

However, the trouble for the company is far from over. In a separate case, two women have accused Apple of intentionally underpaying female workers. The plaintiffs worked for the company for close to a decade and found that this is a company-wide issue affecting more than 12,000 employees from various domains.