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The National Labor Relations Board has accused Apple of infringing on its employees\u2019 rights to advocate for better working conditions. In a complaint<\/a> spotted by Reuters<\/em><\/a>, the agency alleges Apple illegally fired an employee who had used Slack to advocate for workplace changes at the company. Separately, the NLRB accuses Apple of forcing another worker to delete a social media post.<\/p>\n The case stems from a 2021 complaint filed by #AppleToo co-organizer Janneke Parrish<\/a>. In October of that year, Apple fired Parrish for allegedly sharing confidential information, a claim she denies<\/a>. Per the complaint, Parrish used Slack and public social media posts to advocate for permanent remote work.<\/p>\n She also shared open letters critical of the tech giant, distributed a pay equity survey, and recounted instances of sexual and racial discrimination at Apple. According to the labor board, Apple\u2019s policies bars employees from creating Slack channels without first obtaining permission from a manager. Instead, workers must direct their workplace concerns to either management or a \u201cPeople Support\u201d group the company maintains. An example of the type of concerns some employees used Slack to voice can be seen in a 2021 tweet<\/a> from former Apple employee Ashley Gj\u00f8vik<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe look forward to holding Apple accountable at trial for implementing facially unlawful rules and terminating employees for engaging in the core protected activity of calling out gender discrimination and other civil rights violations that permeated the workplace,\u201d Parrish\u2019s lawyer, Laurie Burgess, told Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\n Apple did not immediately respond to Engadget\u2019s comment request.<\/p>\n Provided Apple does not settle with the agency, an initial hearing is scheduled for February with an administrative judge. The NLRB is looking to force the company to change its policy and reimburse Parrish for the financial hardships she suffered due to her firing. Last week, the NLRB accused Apple<\/a> of forcing employees to sign illegal and overly broad confidentially, non-disclosure and non-compete agreements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n