US Labor Board Investigates Two Complaints Alleging Apple of Unfair Labor Practices

Urian B., Tech Times 03 September 2021, 03:09 am

The United States National Labor Relations Board is now investigating two complaints that were filed by Apple employees. These complaints allege certain unfair labor practices being made against the company.

Two Filings Against Apple

According to CNet, these were reportedly according to the filings on the official agency website. One particular complaint that was filed on August 26, 2021, relates to accusations of retaliation, discipline, as well as discharge.

Another one that was filed on September 1, 2021, alleges threats as well as promises of benefits. The board's official website notes that it investigates all particular charges that are filed with the agency. It was also noted that if it determines the complaint has merit, it would then try to broker a certain settlement or even pursue legal action directly against the accused.

Complaints Against Apple

A principal software engineer at Apple by the name of Cher Scarlett confirmed in a Tweet that she actually filed the September 1, 2021 complaint. She noted in the tweet that these all revolve directly around unlawful conduct as well as unlawful rules that have reportedly been engaged in over the previous five months and particularly over the previous month.

She also reportedly added in a subsequent tweet that Apple employees should directly contact the NLRB if ever they were told "not to participate" in the whole wage transparency survey, not to talk regarding their pay, or were even coercively questioned regarding it. The complaints actually come as the tech giant now faces a wave of employee activism in the most recent months.

Concerns About Apple Privacy

In August 2021, employees even criticized Apple's move to scan their US customers' iPhones and computers in order to search for images of child abuse. The criticism was also about worrying that it could lead to censorship or even the arrest by repressive governments. More and more Apple employees have also been coming out with reports of discrimination and unfair treatment as the numbers of the #AppleToo start to grow as well.

In July 2021, employees reportedly started circulating an internal petition pressing executives for a number of flexible working conditions as the company started laying out post-lockdown return-to-work policies. Apple also immediately did not respond to a request for a comment but also declined to discuss the complaints with Reuters as well, which earlier reported on the supposed filings.

Apple reported to the news agency noting that they take all of the concerns very seriously and that they thoroughly investigate whenever a concern is being raised and out of respect for the privacy of a number of individuals involved, the company does not discuss certain specific employee matters. Apple has also reportedly spent a massive amount on lobbying in certain places like the EU. Apple had reportedly spent a whopping $4.1 million in lobbying alone in the EU amidst a barrage of many antitrust investigations.

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Written by Urian B.