Apple Accused of Restricting Employees' Slack, Social Media Use by US Labor Board

Washington: The United States Labor Relations on Friday accused Tech giant Apple of interfering with workers' right to advocate for better working conditions by restricting the use of social media at the workplace.

The NLRB complaint on Thursday accused the global giant company of 'maintaining unlawful work rules around the acceptable uses of Slack, illegally firing an employee who advocated for workplace changes on Slack, requiring another worker to delete a social media post, and creating the impression that employees were being surveilled via social media,' Reuters reported.

This is the second time the agency has hit Apple with a complaint this month.

Last week, the agency accused the tech giant of requiring employees nationwide 'to sign illegal confidentiality, nondisclosure, and non-compete agreements and of imposing overly broad misconduct and social media policies.'

Apple Responds to NLRB Claims

Following the accusations by the US agency, a spokesperson for Apple in a statement on Friday said that the company is committed to maintaining "a positive and inclusive workplace" and takes employee complaints seriously.

“We strongly disagree with these claims and will continue to share the facts at the hearing," it said.

However, in responding to last week's complaint, Apple denied any wrongdoing and said it respects its employees' rights to discuss wages, hours and working conditions.

If Apple does not settle with the NLRB, an administrative judge will hold an initial hearing in the case in February next year.

The judge's decision can be reviewed by the five-member labor board, whose rulings can be appealed in federal court.

The new case stems from a complaint filed with the NLRB nearly three years ago by Janneke Parrish, who says Apple fired her in 2021 for playing a lead role in employee activism.

She used Slack and public social media outlets to advocate for permanent remote work, distribute a pay equity survey, detail alleged sex and race discrimination at Apple and post open letters critical of the company, according to the new complaint.