In a somewhat surreal event, the National Labor Relations Board has frozen two cases against Apple after Trump nominated one of the iPhone maker’s defence lawyers to head up the watchdog.
The NLRB was due to hear cases alleging that Apple illegally fired two organizers of the #AppleToo movement, but both cases have been “postponed indefinitely” just days after Crystal Carey was nominated to head up the body …
The NLRB cases against Apple
Back in 2021, around 2,000 Apple employees took part in an unofficial salary survey, the results of which showed evidence of a wage gap between men and women. The survey kicked off an #AppleToo movement, in which Janneke Parrish and Cher Scarlett were two key figures.
The findings led to some 12,000 current and former female employees filing a class action lawsuit against the company. Earlier this year, a judge ruled that there is a “reasonable possibility” that Apple did indeed illegally pay women less than men, allowing the case to proceed.
Both Parrish and Scarlett subsequently left the company, and filed claims with the NLRB that Apple had illegally fired them for organizing. These first of these cases was due to be heard this month.
The NLRB has also pursued separate complaints against Apple for illegal union-busting activities.
Cases frozen after former defence lawyer nominated
The Financial Times reports that Trump nominated Crystal Carey to head up the NLRB, and that two of the cases against Apple were frozen just days later.
The National Labor Relations Board filed multiple complaints against the iPhone maker last year alleging it intervened against employee attempts to organise, but abruptly pulled back from two of the cases late last week, according to documents seen by the Financial Times.
Trump last week nominated Crystal Carey, a partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius, to be the NLRB’s general counsel. She is listed in the agency’s records as an attorney acting in Apple’s defence in both cases against the Silicon Valley tech group.
The two frozen cases relate to Parrish and Scarlett.
Hearings before an administrative law judge had been scheduled for April and June in Parrish and Scarlett’s cases, respectively. But the NLRB late last week informed them the trials had to be postponed indefinitely pending a legal review by the agency’s head office.
The FT reports that Apple didn’t offer any comment on the latest development. Carey’s appointment is subject to confirmation by the Senate.
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