A new lawsuit accuses Apple of illegally monitoring its employees’ personal devices and iCloud accounts, as well as preventing them from discussing their pay and working conditions.
The complaint filed in California state court on Sunday by Amar Bhakta, who works in digital advertising for Apple, claims the company requires employees to install software on personal devices they use for work. are, allowing Apple to access their email, photo libraries, health and “smart home” data and other personal information.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges, Apple enforces privacy policies that prevent employees from doing so. discussion of working conditionsThat includes the media, and engaging in legally protected whistleblowing.
Bhakta, who has worked for Apple since 2020, says he was barred from talking about his work on podcasts and was instructed to remove information about his working conditions from his LinkedIn profile .
“Apple’s surveillance policies and practices are chilling, and thus unlawfully restricts employee whistleblowing, competition, freedom of employee movement in the job market, and even freedom of speech,” the lawsuit says.
Apple said in a statement provided by a spokesperson that the claims made in the lawsuit are without merit and that its employees are trained annually on their rights to discuss their working 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 company said.
Bhakta’s lawyer also represents the two women filed suit in june Accused Apple of systematically underpaying female employees in its engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions. Apple has said it is committed to inclusion and pay equity.
Apple is also facing at least three complaints from the US Labor Board, claiming employees detained illegally From discussing issues like sexual bias and pay discrimination with each other and the media, to restricting the use of social media and the workplace messaging app Slack. The company has denied any wrongdoing.
The new lawsuit was filed under a unique California law that allows workers to sue their employers on behalf of the state and keep 35% of the fines recovered.
