CUPERTINO, CA – Apple has been hit with a new employee lawsuit in California alleging that the company’s workplace policies unlawfully (1) restrain employee speech, (2) violate privacy rights, and (3) illegally claw back wages earned.
The complaint was filed under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”), which allows aggrieved employees to recover penalties for themselves, all other affected employees, and the State of California when a company breaks employment law protections.
Plaintiff Amar Bhakta works for Apple as a Digital Ad Tech/Operations Manager. In July 2020, Bhakta says Apple presented him with a standard offer letter marked “Apple Confidential.” He was then required to sign Apple’s Intellectual Property Agreement (“IPA”) and agree to the terms of Apple’s Business Conduct Policy (“BCP”) as a condition of employment, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple’s overly restrictive workplace policies illegally limit employee freedom in three ways. First, Apple prevents employees from discussing their wages and working conditions. Second, Apple invades employee privacy through surveillance and forced patronage via the use of their non-private work data. Third, Apple subjects workers to unlawful wage clawbacks.
For example, as alleged in the complaint, Apple suppresses employee speech as follows:
- Apple’s IPA bars employees from disclosing “Proprietary Information,” which includes employee information like compensation” and “training” information that California law allows workers to share to protect their rights to fair treatment, the complaint alleges.
- Apple’s BCP expressly prohibits discussion of coworkers’ “compensation” and other data that California law allows to be shared.
- Apple’s Security and Information Classification Policies and Standards also restrict disclosure of information that the complaint alleges is protected by California law, such as benefits, job titles, work performance, employment dates, employment status, and reporting relations.
And Apple allegedly invades employee privacy as follows:
- Apple requires employees to use either an “Apple-owned” or “Apple-managed” iPhone for work. Apple actively encourages (and sometimes requires) employees to use their personal iPhone for work and converts the phone to “Apple-managed” status by installing company software. Apple then claims the right to access, search, and use all of its employees’ data—including their personal data.
- Apple encourages employees to use a personal iCloud account for work purposes. Apple only allows one primary iCloud account per device. Therefore, employees who use their personal iPhone for work give Apple access to not only their personal data, but also the personal data of any devices synched to that iCloud account, which may include family members and non-Apple devices.
- Apple’s Workplace Searches and Privacy Policy gives Apple the right to access all employees’ data from both work and personal accounts and to search employees’ physical workspace while on company premises. The policy also suggests that Apple has the right to search its employees’ home offices.
Lastly, the complaint further alleges that Apple’s equity plans and agreements contain illegal forfeiture provisions that allow Apple to claw back vested Restricted Stock Units if employees disclose any confidential information or breach an agreement with Apple, including the many consumer agreements between employees and Apple.
Under PAGA, employers can face penalties of up to $100 per aggrieved employee per pay period for initial labor code violations, and $200 per aggrieved employee for each pay period thereafter. Apple is facing a separate equal pay class action alleging the company pays women less than men in its engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions in California.
“Being able to speak openly about my work is so important to me professionally and personally,” said Amar Bhakta. “It’s disappointing that Apple, whose ethos is privacy and confidentiality, would try to monitor and censor me. That hurts my ability to advance professionally. I hope this complaint causes Apple to change their approach to monitoring employees outside of work and reminds employees that they have the power to stand up too.”
“All California employees have the right to speak about their wages and working conditions,” said Jahan Sagafi, Partner at Outten & Golden LLP who represents the plaintiff. “Your voice is one of the most important tools you have to fight back against pay discrimination and other corporate wrongdoing. Apple’s broad speech suppression policies create a danger of discrimination going unchallenged far too long, which harms all Apple employees and Californians in general.”
The case is Amar Bhakta v. Apple, Inc., index number pending in California Superior Court, Santa Clara County.
The plaintiff is represented by Chris Baker and Deborah Schwartz of Baker Dolinko & Schwartz, P.C., and Jahan C. Sagafi, Molly J. Frandsen, and Hannah Meropol of Outten & Golden LLP.
About Outten & Golden LLP
Outten & Golden LLP is one of the largest U.S. law firms dedicated to the representation of employees. With offices in New York City, Washington D.C. and San Francisco, the firm has taken on many of the country’s largest and most powerful employers, forging landmark settlements and historic verdicts that contribute to a more equitable workplace. As a mission-driven firm, O&G uses litigation and other means to expand the rights of all employees to fair wages and working conditions, and a workplace free of discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Learn more at www.outtengolden.com.
About Baker Dolinko & Schwartz, P.C.
Baker Dolinko & Schwartz is a boutique law firm that handles cutting-edge and complex matters designed to protect the autonomy of the individual against encroachments and invasions by corporate powers. Their work has been referenced in works such as The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future At the New Frontier of Power by Shoshanna Zuboff, Whistleblower: My Journey to Silicon Valley and Fight for Justice at Uber by Susan Fowler, and Tyranny, Inc.: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty – and What To Do About It by Sohrab Ahmari.