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Investigators with the National Labor Relations Board have for the first time accused Apple of maintaining a series of illegal policies for its employees nationwide, adding to a series of cases the agency has brought against the tech giant for its anti-union actions at specific stores.
In a complaint filed Friday, the NLRB’s Los Angeles office said the tech giant imposed “numerous” unlawful rules on workers, including confidentiality agreements, non-disclosure policies, non-compete policies, misconduct policies, and social media policies that violate the National Labor Relations Act. The L.A. office spent years investigating the allegations, which stem from charges made against the company in 2021, and ultimately filed the complaint last week after failing to reach a settlement with Apple, said Kayla Blado, a spokesperson for the agency. The NLRB has not yet published the complaint or shared more details about the alleged violations.
Apple has entered into six settlement agreements with the NLRB and the associated unions to resolve unfair labor practice charges over the past two years. Three more complaints from regional offices are pending an administrative judge’s ruling because a settlement wasn’t reached and the NLRB is investigating a further 30 cases across 11 states that could potentially add to that list, according to Blado.
Unlike the previous complaints, which have focused on union busting at individual stores and offices, this most recent complaint covers the company’s policies at all of its locations. The case is scheduled for a hearing before an administrative law judge in January.
In May, the NLRB affirmed an administrative law judge’s findings that Apple illegally interrogated workers at a New York City store about their unionization efforts and prevented them from sharing pro-union flyers. That union drive failed and Apple has appealed the NLRB’s decision.
In June of 2023, the NLRB regional office in Oakland, California filed a complaint against Apple alleging the company illegally fired, disciplined, threatened, and interrogated an employee for engaging in protected union activity at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. And in December 2022, the agency’s Atlanta office accused the company of interrogating employees and forcing them to attend anti-union meetings. Both of those cases are awaiting rulings from NLRB administrative law judges.
Despite the company’s pressure campaigns, employees at two Apple stores–in Oklahoma City and Towson, Maryland–have successfully formed unions. The Oklahoma City store workers ratified their first contract with the company last week, a month after voting to authorize a strike.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
