Apple is being accused of ‘illegally’ violating workers rights by the U.S. labor board
Tech giant Apple (AAPL) has been accused of fostering an illegal work environment and violating multiple efforts organized by employees to advocate for better wages and workplace conditions, according to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board.
According to the complaint filed on Monday by the labor board, Apple forced employees across the country to sign “illegal” non-disclosure, and non-compete agreements, according to Reuters.
The complaint further accuses the tech giant of “interfering” and “restraining” employees’ rights under federal labor law.
Apple says it has “always” respected its employees’ rights to discuss wages, hours, and working conditions and has “strongly” disagreed with the accusations that have been made in the complaint, a company spokesperson said to Reuters.
If the case is not settled by Apple, it will be moved on to an administrative judge beginning in January. The U.S. National Labor Relations Board wants Apple to repeal its reported workplace violations and alert the public of their legal rights.
This isn’t the first time the company has been accused of infringing on its workers. In January 2023, the National Labor Relations Board stated that Apple had imposed acts on its employees that stopped them from discussing their earnings and engaging in other protected activities, per CNN.
Additionally, in June, two former female employees at Apple filed a class action lawsuit against the company for gender discrimination. The women accused the company of paying women employees significantly less than male employees for the same work, which was also reported by CNN.
Apple is currently facing two other pending lawsuits from the National Labor Relations Board, which claims the company terminated an employee at its California-based headquarters for allegedly criticizing managers and illegally interfering with a union campaign at a retail store in Atlanta, per Reuters.
