Apple was accused on Friday by the U.S. National Labour Relations Board of restricting employees’ use of Slack, a workplace messaging app and social media, thereby interfering with their ability to collectively advocate for better working conditions.
The iPhone maker is accused in the NLRB complaint, which was released on Thursday of upholding illegal work rules regarding acceptable Slack uses, unlawfully terminating an employee who used Slack to advocate for changes to the workplace, forcing another employee to remove a social media post and giving the false impression that staff members were being monitored on social media.
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This is the second complaint the NLRB has filed against Apple this month. The agency accused the company last week of enforcing illegal nondisclosure, noncompete, and confidentiality agreements on all of its employees nationwide as well as enforcing excessively broad policies regarding social media and misconduct.
A spokesman for Apple said in a statement on Friday, that the company is dedicated to upholding “a positive and inclusive workplace” and that it takes employee complaints seriously.
The company declared “We will continue to share the facts at the hearing and we strongly disagree with these claims.”
Apple refuted the allegations made against it last week and stated that it respects the freedom of its workers to speak with one another about pay, hours, and working conditions.
In the event that Apple and the NLRB cannot reach a settlement, the case will go to an administrative judge for an initial hearing in February. The five-member labor board may review the judge’s decision and its decisions may be appealed in federal court.
The current lawsuit is the result of a nearly three-year-old complaint filed with the NLRB by Janneke Parrish. Who claims,she was fired by Apple in 2021 for taking the lead in employee activism.
The new complaint states that Parrish detailed alleged racial and sexual discrimination at Apple, posted open letters critical of the company, advocated for permanent remote work, and distributed a pay equity survey via Slack and public social media platforms.
Introduced several years ago at Apple, Slack is a platform that lets employees start group conversations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Slack gained much popularity as a discussion forum.
Apple allegedly has a policy that prevents employees from starting new Slack channels without supervisor approval, according to the NLRB complaint. As per the complaint, posts concerning issues, related to the workplace ought to be addressed to a manager or a “People Support” group.
Apple has committed “extensive violations” of workers’ rights, according to an email sent on Friday by Laurie Burgess, Parrish’s attorney.
Burgess stated, “We look forward to holding Apple accountable at trial for enforcing rules, that are facially unlawful and firing employees for participating in the core protected activity of reporting instances of discrimination against women and other civil rights violations. That were prevalent in the workplace.”
In the complaint, Parrish requests an order, compelling Apple to reverse its purportedly illegal policies and pay her back for any lost wages and other financial damages resulting from her termination.
