Apple is facing allegations in a recent lawsuit that it has unlawfully monitored the personal devices of employees and their iCloud accounts. The complaint also claims the company has implemented measures to restrict discussions about employees’ pay and working conditions.
Filed on Sunday in California state court by Amar Bhakta, an employee in digital advertising, the lawsuit asserts that Apple mandates workers to install software on their personal devices for work purposes. This software purportedly grants Apple access to employees’ emails, photo libraries, health data, smart home information, and more.
Simultaneously, the lawsuit contends that Apple enforces confidentiality policies that prevent employees from openly discussing conditions at work, including engaging with the media and participating in legally protected whistleblowing activities.
Bhakta, who has been with Apple since 2020, claims that he was prohibited from mentioning his job on podcasts and was instructed to delete details regarding his working conditions from his LinkedIn profile.
The lawsuit states, “Apple’s surveillance policies and practices chill, and thus also unlawfully restrain, employee whistleblowing, competition, freedom of employee movement in the job market, and freedom of speech.”
In response, an Apple spokesperson issued a statement asserting that the allegations lack validity and emphasized that employees receive annual training on their rights to discuss workplace conditions.
“At Apple, we’re focused on creating the best products and services in the world and we work to protect the inventions our teams create for customers,” the statement noted.
Bhakta’s legal team also represents two women who filed a separate lawsuit in June, alleging that Apple systematically underpays female workers in its engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions. Apple has responded by expressing its commitment to inclusion and pay equity.
Additionally, Apple is contending with a series of complaints submitted to a U.S. labor board, which accuse the company of unlawfully discouraging employees from discussing matters like gender bias and wage discrimination. These complaints allege that Apple has restricted the use of social media and workplace messaging tools such as Slack, an assertion the company has denied.
The current lawsuit falls under a distinctive California law that permits workers to file claims against their employers on behalf of the state, enabling them to retain 35% of any penalties that may be assessed.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
