The lawsuit was filed on Sunday in California state court by Amar Bhakta, a digital advertising employee at Apple.
Apple is facing accusations in a new lawsuit of illegally monitoring its employees’ personal devices and iCloud accounts, while also restricting them from discussing their pay and working conditions.
The complaint, filed in California state court on Sunday by Amar Bhakta, a digital advertising employee at Apple, claims that the company mandates employees to install software on their personal devices used for work, giving Apple access to personal data such as email, photo libraries, health information, and smart home data.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Apple enforces confidentiality policies that prevent employees from discussing working conditions, even with the media, and from engaging in legally-protected whistleblowing activities.
Bhakta, who has worked for Apple since 2020, states that he was prohibited from discussing his work on podcasts and was instructed to remove references to his working conditions from his LinkedIn profile.
Apple is facing accusations in a new lawsuit of unlawfully monitoring its employees’ personal devices and iCloud accounts, while also restricting them from discussing their pay and working conditions.
The complaint, filed in California state court on Sunday by Amar Bhakta, a digital advertising employee at Apple, claims that the company mandates employees to install software on their personal devices used for work, enabling Apple to access personal data such as emails, photo libraries, health information, and smart home data.
Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that Apple enforces confidentiality policies that prevent employees from discussing their working conditions, even with the media, and from engaging in legally protected whistleblowing.
Bhakta, who has been with Apple since 2020, says he was prohibited from discussing his work on podcasts and was instructed to remove details about his working conditions from his LinkedIn profile.
The lawsuit claims that “Apple’s surveillance policies and practices suppress and unlawfully restrict employee whistleblowing, competition, freedom of movement in the job market, and freedom of speech.”
In response, Apple issued a statement through a spokesperson, stating that the allegations in the lawsuit are without merit. The company emphasized that its employees receive annual training on their rights to discuss working conditions.
“At Apple, we’re focused on creating the best products and services in the world, and we work to protect the inventions our teams create for customers,” the company added.
Bhakta’s legal team also represents two women who filed a lawsuit in June, accusing Apple of systematically underpaying female workers in its engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions. Apple has expressed its commitment to inclusion and pay equity.
Additionally, Apple is facing at least three complaints from a U.S. labor board, alleging that the company has unlawfully discouraged employees from discussing issues such as sex discrimination and pay inequality with each other or the media. This includes restrictions on their use of social media and the workplace messaging app Slack. Apple has denied these allegations.
The new lawsuit was filed under a California law that allows employees to sue their employers on behalf of the state and retain 35% of any penalties recovered.
