U.S. National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) Finds Merit and Files a Complaint Against Tech Giant Apple Over Discrimination Against Employees and for Holding Anti-Union Meetings!!!!
Karma Management has now become Karma Management Global Consulting Solutions Pvt. Ltd. which was incorporated in the year 2004 and has now completed almost 18 years of its existence.
As late as April 2021, Karma Global took a very bold step of venturing into foreign shores in terms of shoving up its business in countries like the US, UK, UAE, Canada, Philippines, and South East Asia.
It has already made its mark in terms of providing excellent services in the areas of payroll, outsourcing, recruitment and talent acquisition, and regulatory compliances in these foreign countries with its offices running on a full-time basis catering to the requirements of several global clients.
Karma thus entails the compliances of global clients in these countries as well , and in keeping with the global scenario, it does keep a very hard track of the status of global compliances all around the world and especially so, it keeps an update on what is happening as far as people, wages, work, and benefits are concerned across the globe.
Before we make an attempt to see what the complaint against tech giant APPLE is all about, let us first understand what NLRB stands for and what does it do !!!
About U.S. NLRB
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is comprised of a team of professionals who work to assure fair labor practices and workplace democracy nationwide.
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency vested with the power to safeguard employees’ rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representatives. The agency also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private-sector employers and unions.
The National Labor Relations Board protects the rights of most private-sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve their wages and working conditions. If you believe your rights have been violated, or that an employer or a union has engaged in unlawful conduct, you may file a charge through one of its regional offices. Petitions for representation and decertification of elections may also be filed at regional offices.
How it all started ….!
During the past year, Apple has faced several complaints from staff, including one from Janneke Parrish, a former employee who accused the company of firing her for encouraging colleagues to share stories about discrimination and harassment.
Parrish filed her complaint with the NLRB in November 2021, following two other Apple employees who filed similar charges with the agency in September.
At the time of Parrish’s filing, Apple said it takes all concerns seriously and investigates them thoroughly but doesn’t discuss specific employee issues with the press out of a concern for privacy.
The complaint also stems from a filing in May by the Communications Workers of America, which alleged that Apple violated several laws under the National Labor Relations Act.
Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment on the NLRB complaint. An Apple spokesperson told The New York Times that Apple disagrees with the union’s claims and looks “forward to presenting the facts.” An NLRB judge has set a hearing for Dec. 13 and can order remedies, though Apple can appeal.
The CWA has also filed an unfair labor practice charge against Apple for allegedly surveilling and threatening employees ahead of a unionization election at Apple’s Penn Square location in Oklahoma City. They are slated to vote on joining the Apple Retail Union/CWA on Oct. 14
The crux of the issue………….!!!
The US National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against Apple over accusations that the tech company hampered union-organizing efforts at a store in New York City. The complaint involves allegations that Apple questioned employees about workplace activism and discriminated against workers by preventing the distribution of pro-union materials.
The NLRB complaint, filed Friday, “alleges that Apple discriminated against employees by applying a no solicitation policy only against employees who formed, joined or assisted the Union by prohibiting the placement of Union flyers on the breakroom table while permitting nonunion solicitations and distributions,” a spokesperson for the agency said in an email. It also alleges that Apple “interrogated its employees about their support for the union and their protected concerted activities regarding their wages.”
The CWA complaint, filed Wednesday with the NLRB, said Apple held “unlawful, mandatory captive audience meetings” about unionization and told employees that unionized stores “would not receive the same improvements to working conditions” as other stores. Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Views of the workers
Retail workers at Apple stores throughout the US have sought to unionize, in cities including Atlanta, Baltimore, Oklahoma City, and Louisville. In May, organizers for employees at an Apple Store in Atlanta withdrew their request for a union election, accusing Apple of union-busting activity. In June, Apple reportedly shared plans to roll out new policies for retail staff aimed at flexible schedules.
“Apple workers like us deserve a chance to negotiate and envision our future at the company we love so we can all thrive,” said Michael Forsythe, who works at the Penn Square store. “At the end of the day, we all just want respect on the job and freedom from intimidation.”
Apple’s Towson Town Center store in Maryland state was the first retail location in the US to hold a union election. They voted to unionize, with 65 in favor and 33 against.
The workers sought to expand their rights, asking for “a say when it comes to paying, hours, and safety.”
Apple recently hiked benefits for both part-time and full-time retail employees
At the same time, let us take a quick look at the Employment & Labor Laws & Regulations USA 2022
What are the main sources of employment laws?
There are Federal, State & Employment Laws
The Primary Federal Employment Laws are :
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ;
The Americans with Disabilities Act
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
The Equal Pay Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act
The Family and Medical Leave Act
The Immigration Reform and Control Act
The National Labor Relations Act
The Occupational Safety & Health Act
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act
Executive Order 11246 for Government Contractors
What types of workers are protected by Employment Law? How are different types of workers distinguished ?
Workers are generally protected against discrimination under federal law on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, retaliation, union activity, and more recently gender identity.
Employees are distinguished by categories such as “at will” employment, employment under a union bargaining collective contract, hourly worker or salaried worker.
Conclusion
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws. These mandates and the regulations that implement them cover many workplace activities for about 150 million workers and 10 million workplaces.
These Department of Labor statutes are most commonly applicable to businesses, job seekers, workers, retirees, contractors and grantees. This brief summary of some of the prominent acts is intended to acquaint you with the major labor laws rather than giving a detailed account of the same in the light of the complaint filed by NLRB against the tech giant APPLE.
As is the case everywhere and also here in India and also in the U.S. the employers use experienced representatives to argue and fight the case so as to defeat the claims made by the workers and by the Board.
A lot of efforts are made by employers to present their side and try to make the claims as weak as possible. All pains are taken to convince the agencies that either nothing really happened or they were right to do what they did or even that it was the worker’s fault.
Similarly, the workers also take the help of experienced representatives to present a hard-hitting rebuttal to show the agencies that the employer is wrong so that a positive finding can be issued in favor of the workers.
Karma Global while dealing with all such issues and cases, always takes the approach to act trustworthily and to be compliant with the laws of the land.
U.S. National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) – Karma Global always advises its clients to be on the good side of the law and to abide by the same.
In this respect, it offers a plethora of excellent services in terms of documentation compliance and validity of licenses for running the business and also supports establishments and union-afflicted workers to take a just stand on issues, in the company’s interest and not on trivial grounds just for the sake of it, to show the level of aggression.
Respect for all fundamental principles and rights at work (FPRW), including freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, is an essential foundation of the ILO and key to successful policy and decision-making.
As the world of work is changing at an ever-increasing pace, strong, influential and inclusive social dialogue is, and will be, a key vehicle to shape the world of work that we want..
Proprietory blog of Karma Management Global Tech Firm
This blog has been collated and compiled by the internal staff of Karma with the knowledge and expertise that they possess, for its monthly newsletter Issue 05 of November 2022 in case of specific or general information or compliance updates for that matter, kindly reach out to the
Marketing Team – Kush@karmamgmt.com / yashika@karmamgmt.com