The National Labor Relations Board has reportedly filed a complaint against Apple Inc. AAPL on Monday, alleging that the tech giant compelled its employees to sign illegal confidentiality, non-compete, and non-disclosure agreements.
What Happened: The complaint also claims that Apple excessively enforced social media and misconduct policies. The NLRB’s statement, seen by Reuters, accuses Apple of “interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of” their rights under federal labor law.
The case will reportedly be heard by an administrative judge in January.
The NLRB is seeking Apple to revoke its unlawful rules and inform its employees of their legal rights.
These allegations trace back to a September 2021 case involving Ashley Gjovik, a former senior engineering program manager, who was allegedly fired for raising issues like harassment and sexism.
In May, the NLRB found that Apple conducted unauthorized interrogations of employees at its World Trade Center retail store in New York City.
Apple did not immediately respond to Benzinga's comment request.
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Why It Matters: This complaint comes amid a backdrop of increasing unionization efforts within Apple’s retail stores.
In July, Apple made history by reaching its first U.S. union labor agreement with retail workers in Towson, Maryland. This marked a significant milestone for the company, as it was the first time any of its U.S. workers had successfully unionized.
The Towson Apple store employees, members of the International Association of Machinists union since June 2022, had been negotiating their first contract and even authorized a strike in May without setting a deadline.
Additionally, Apple has faced increased union efforts from other locations, including a New Jersey store. Previous unionization attempts in Maryland and Oklahoma have influenced these efforts.
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