Apple is accused of violating labor rights, according to US authorities

Apple has illegally imposed rules on its employees that prohibit them from discussing their salaries and engaging in other activities, according to investigators from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The NLRB agents’ findings determined that “various workplace rules, handbook rules, and confidentiality rules at Apple” are illegal because they “reasonably tend to interfere with, restrict, or coerce employees” who attempt to enforce their employment rights, said Kayla Blado, spokesperson for the NLRB, CNN on Tuesday (31).

The investigation involved multiple allegations dating back to 2021, Blado said, some of which accused Apple of interfering with employees’ attempts to collect salary data and of “repressive activity that allowed abuse and harassment of organizers.” One of the allegations claimed that Apple maintained “employment rules that prohibit employees from discussing wages, hours or other terms or conditions of employment.”

Apple declined to comment. The agency’s findings were first reported by Bloomberg.

The rulings could put pressure on Apple to resolve the allegations or risk facing a formal complaint from NLRB prosecutors in an internal administrative proceeding — which could result in an order to change Apple’s business practices. The NLRB does not have the power to impose penalties, but it can force employers to implement “comprehensive remedies,” according to its website.

According to Bloomberg, the cases in question were filed by two former Apple employees, one of whom cited an email from CEO Tim Cook promising to clamp down on information leakage at the company. Only some of the charges filed have been made public through Freedom of Information Act requests, and those that are available on the NLRB website have been partially redacted. The content of the investigators’ findings was also not disclosed.

But Blado said that, as part of the investigation, a regional office of the NLRB “found merit in an indictment alleging that Apple’s statements and conduct – including high-ranking executives – also violated the National Labor Relations Act.”

Apple has previously clashed with the NLRB over how to deal with workers seeking to unionize at its retail stores.

Apple has been hit with a complaint by the NLRB over allegations that it questioned employees about their support of a union and selectively banned the placement of pro-union fliers in a break room at an Apple store in New York. Apple rejected these allegations in a lawsuit with the NLRB.