Apple policies violate worker rights, NLRB determines once again

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues to take issue with multiple aspects of Apple conduct, with the board Monday saying it had determined that the company’s policies may interfere with employees’ rights to collective action.

It’s important to note that while it can order companies to change their policies, the NLRB does not have the power to impose punitive damages if they don’t comply. Should Apple’s response prove unsatisfactory, however, this ruling is likely to lead to a complaint and potentially a federal case against the company, particularly given that the NLRB has ruled against Apple previously.

As reported by Bloomberg, the NLRB general counsel’s office has found that “various work rules, handbook rules, and confidentiality rules” that Apple imposes on its employees “tend to interfere with, restrain or coerce” them from exercising their labor rights. In blunter terms, this has been described as allegations of “union-busting.”

Furthermore, the NLRB has “found merit to a charge alleging statements and conduct by Apple–including high-level executives–also violated the National Labor Relations Act,” according to agency spokesperson Kayla Blado.

Former employees allege that they were prohibited from discussing wages, which is a protected right. (Apple finally relaxed this policy in November 2021.) It’s also alleged that threats to punish leakers violated labor laws.

Apple’s relationship with employees has come under intense scrutiny in recent years. Last year saw a US Apple Store successfully unionize for the first time in the company’s history, and numerous others attempted to follow suit. These attempts met with mixed results and considerable acrimony.

Facing a rising interest in the advantages of collective bargaining, it’s been reported that Apple sent out a list of anti-union talking points to its store managers. One store withdrew its filing in November, alleging “anti-union practices and increased hostility towards workers.” But most famous was a store in Cumberland, Atlanta, which withdrew a unionization attempt days before the vote, citing “a systematic, sophisticated campaign to intimidate [workers] and interfere with their right to form a union.” This resulted in a ruling against the company from the NLRB, which concluded that Apple violated federal law by interrogating and coercing employees.