The employee claims that Apple is monitoring employees’ personal emails and photos

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Employees sued Apple for allegedly monitoring employees’ personal devices and preventing them from talking about pay and working conditions, according to the complaint dated December 2 filed in California.

In the complaint, Apple’s digital advertising and operations manager said the company is invading employees’ privacy by requiring them to install software on personal devices that are also used for work that gives access to personal email, photos, health data and other private information. .

In addition, the plaintiff alleged that Apple’s intellectual property agreement, which is signed as a condition of employment, prohibits employees from discussing information such as salary and working conditions. Other policies appear to limit disclosure of benefits, employment status and performance, the complaint said.

“All workers in California have the right to speak about their wages and working conditions,” said Jahan Sagafi, a partner at Outten & Golden LLP, which is representing the plaintiff. the statement says. “Your voice is one of the most important tools you have in the fight against pay discrimination and other corporate wrongdoing.”

Apple did not respond to HR Dive’s request for comment. In a Reuters statementAn Apple spokesman said the lawsuits are unfounded and that employees receive annual training about their rights to discuss working conditions.

“At Apple, we’re focused on building the best products and services in the world, and we work to protect the inventions our teams create for customers,” a spokesperson said.

Outten & Golden also represents two women who filed a lawsuit against Apple in June, alleging that the company systematically underpaid women in its engineering, marketing and AppleCare divisions.

In addition, Apple is facing three complaints from a US labor council that alleges the company prevented employees from discussing issues such as gender bias and pay discrimination. According to Reuters, Apple denied the claims and stressed its commitment to inclusion and pay equity.

In general, tracking employees using tracking technology can hinder productivity and induce employee turnoveraccording to a 15Five survey. Managers may be motivated to monitor employees because of mistrust, fear and a lack of visibility into their employees’ work, the company said, and this fear, in turn, may be fueled by a lack of clarity provided by senior management about expectations.

Notably, California, where these lawsuits are being filed, could be a leader in workers’ rights, with several new changes coming in 2025. related to wages, sick leave and meetings with the audience. Local governments can also take on the responsibility of enforcing certain anti-discrimination laws, especially because the state civil rights department can’t keep up with the high volume of complaints, advocates say.