Charles Martin
The US National Labor Relations Board has received a new complaint, accusing Apple's management of restricting, monitoring, and interfering with workers' rights through unlawful rules regarding the use of Slack.
The complaint filed with the NLRB charges that Apple's social media policies bar workers from creating new Slack channels, demanding that workplace concerns go to either a manager or an established "People Support" channel. The company said in a statement that it "strongly disagrees" with the new claims, and is committed to maintaining "a positive and inclusive workplace."
The new accusation follows on the heels of a complaint earlier in October that accused Apple of forcing employees to sign illegal confidentiality, nondisclosure, and non-compete agreements. Now, the NLRB says Apple may be imposing what the board calls "overly broad" misconduct and social media policies.
What's old is new again
The latest case regarding interference in workers' social media rights is an outgrowth from a nearly three-year-old case by Janneke Parrish. She was fired by Apple in 2021 for her employee and union activism, which included her use of Slack and other social media outlets.
Parrish has previously accused Apple of sex and race discrimination, and called for allowing remote worker positions created during the COVID pandemic to become permanent positions. She has also advocated for permission to distribute a pay equity survey, among other complaints.
In response to the previous complaints, Apple denied the accusations and said it respects its employees rights to discuss working conditions, hours, and wages.
In all the ongoing cases, Apple will need to reach a settlement with the NLRB that addresses its concerns, or face a hearing by an administrative judge in February. Those decisions would be reviewed by a five-member labor board, but could be appealed in federal court, reports Reuters.
"We look forward to holding Apple accountable at trial for implementing facially unlawful rules," said Laurie Burgess, Parrish's lawyer in the ongoing complaint. "and terminating employees for engaging in the core protected activity of calling out gender discrimination and other civil rights violations that permeated the workplace."
The new complaint calls for Parrish to be reimbursed for lost income and other financial impacts of her firing, and for Apple to rescind its allegedly unlawful policies. A date for a hearing to question Apple on the most recent allegations has not yet been set.
Wesley Hilliard
Christine McKee
Malcolm Owen
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
10 Comments
Slack is not exactly social media. It's a corporate communication tool. I don't see any problem with Apple controlling whether users can create channels in what are effectively Apple's own communication systems. If the employees want to communicate on social media then they should use social media. Besides, I'm not really sure why they think starting a complaint channel on Apple's Slack is a good idea anyway. It's not like those communications are private in any way just because they didn't invite Tim Cook to join the channel.
Never say anything on social media you wouldn’t say to your boss.
Retired now, but as recently as 2017, my former large conglomerate employer had clauses in their employment, retirement and severance agreements that employees or former employees agreed not to say anything negative about the organization or its customers or suppliers on social media, printed media or broadcast media (that was not already well known to the general public). There were also strict rules about use of company equipment at all times (and extensive monitoring), as well as restrictions on personal equipment use while at work.
Generally not a good idea to say negative things. It is common for prospective employers to do general internet searches as a part of background checks. Some employers will even interview your neighbors, former employers and even relatives.