Apple (AAPL.O) faces accusations in a new lawsuit of illegally monitoring its workers’ personal devices and iCloud accounts while preventing them from discussing their pay and working conditions.
Amar Bhakta, an Apple employee in digital advertising, filed the complaint in California state court on Sunday. Bhakta claims Apple requires employees to install software on personal devices used for work, enabling the company to access their email, photo libraries, health data, and “smart home” information.
The lawsuit asserts that Apple enforces confidentiality policies prohibiting employees from discussing their working conditions, engaging with the media, or participating in legally protected whistleblowing activities. Bhakta states that Apple barred him from talking about his work on podcasts and demanded he remove details about his working conditions from his LinkedIn profile.
The lawsuit claims, “Apple’s surveillance policies and practices chill, and thus also unlawfully restrain, employee whistleblowing, competition, freedom of employee movement in the job market, and freedom of speech.”
Apple responded by stating the allegations lack merit and emphasized that its employees receive annual training on their rights to discuss working conditions. A spokesperson added, “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.”
Bhakta’s lawyers also represent two women who sued Apple in June, alleging systematic underpayment of female workers in its engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions. Apple has denied those claims, reiterating its commitment to inclusion and pay equity.
Apple also faces at least three complaints from the U.S. labor board, which claim the company has illegally deterred employees from discussing issues like sex bias and pay discrimination. These complaints accuse Apple of restricting employee use of social media and workplace messaging tools like Slack. Apple has denied any wrongdoing.
Bhakta filed the new lawsuit under a California law that allows workers to sue employers on behalf of the state and claim 35% of any recovered penalties.
