Apple accused of restricting US workers’ use of Slack and social media by US labor council

:The US National Labor Relations Board has accused Apple of interfering with workers’ rights to collectively advocate for better working conditions by limiting their use of social media and the workplace messaging app. Slack work, the agency announced Friday.

The NLRB complaint, filed Thursday, accuses the iPhone maker of maintaining illegal workplace rules regarding acceptable uses of Slack, illegally terminating an employee who advocated for workplace changes on Slack, requiring another employee to delete a social media post and creating the impression that employees were being monitored via social media.

This is the second time the NLRB has filed a complaint against Apple this month. Last week, the agency accused the company of requiring employees nationwide to sign illegal confidentiality, nondisclosure and noncompetition agreements and of imposing misconduct and of social media too broad.

Apple, in a statement provided Friday by a spokesperson, said it was committed to maintaining “a positive and inclusive workplace” and took employee complaints seriously.

“We strongly disagree with these assertions and will continue to share the facts during the hearing,” the company said.

In response to the complaint filed last week, Apple denied any wrongdoing and said it respected its employees’ rights to discuss wages, hours and working conditions.

If Apple fails to reach a settlement with the NLRB, an administrative law judge will hold an initial hearing in the case in February. The judge’s decision can be reviewed by the five-member labor board, whose decisions can be appealed to the Federal Court.

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

Parrish used Slack and public social media to advocate for permanent remote work, distribute a pay equity survey, detail allegations of gender and racial discrimination at Apple, and post open letters criticizing the company, according to the new complaint.

Slack, which allows workers to create group conversations, was rolled out several years ago at Apple and has become increasingly popular as a discussion forum during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NLRB complaint says Apple has a policy prohibiting employees from creating new Slack channels without permission from managers. Messages about workplace concerns should be directed to a manager or “people support” group, according to the complaint.

Parrish’s attorney, Laurie Burgess, said in an email Friday that Apple engaged in “extensive violations” of workers’ rights.

“We look forward to holding Apple accountable at trial for enforcing apparently illegal rules and firing employees for engaging in the protected core activity of exposing gender discrimination and other rights violations civilians who permeated the workplace,” Burgess said.

The complaint seeks an order requiring Apple to rescind its allegedly illegal policies and reimburse Parrish for lost revenue and other financial impacts of his termination.