Fired Apple employee who aired workplace concerns gets approval to sue company
An Apple employee who spoke out publicly about workplace issues and was recently fired for allegedly leaking confidential information has been given the green light by a civil rights enforcement agency to sue her now-former employer.
Ashely Gjovik confirmed Friday that she received approval from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and California's Department of Fair Employment & Housing to file a private lawsuit against Apple. It is unclear if the former engineering program manager will proceed on her claims.
According to documents seen by AppleInsider, Gjovik details a range of disturbing allegations, some of which have been chronicled on Twitter and her website.
For about four years, Gjovik claims she was subjected to sexism, harassment, bullying and retaliation from managers and colleagues. In March of 2021, the former Apple employee raised concerns about potential hazardous waste contamination at her office and filed a workers compensation claim, an action that allegedly prompted further retaliation from managers.
Attempts were made to rectify the situation through employee relations channels in April, but inquiries, including one supposedly ongoing investigation, were fruitless and potentially exacerbated matters.
Despite her objections, Gjovik was placed on administrative leave on Aug. 4.
Similar claims were lodged in a National Labor Relations Board complaint in late August. Gjovik was due to file an affidavit in that case today.
In a confusing series of events on Thursday, Apple accused Gjovik of leaking "confidential product-related information" and called for her immediate participation in an active investigation. She voiced readiness to cooperate in email correspondence with a member of Apple's Threat Assessment and Workplace Violence team on the condition that the conversation be conducted in writing, but the ER representative dismissed the offer and later referenced her decision "not to participate in the discussion."
Apple sent a notice of termination roughly two hours later. The company did not specify what intellectual property was illicitly disclosed.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The development comes as Apple faces mounting criticism from employees who feel like the tech giant doesn't do enough to address allegations of harassment, sexism, racism, inequity and other workplace issues. Some of these claims are being exposed by a group called AppleToo, which last week penned an open letter calling for action from Apple CEO Tim Cook and senior management.
Read on AppleInsider
Ashely Gjovik confirmed Friday that she received approval from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and California's Department of Fair Employment & Housing to file a private lawsuit against Apple. It is unclear if the former engineering program manager will proceed on her claims.
According to documents seen by AppleInsider, Gjovik details a range of disturbing allegations, some of which have been chronicled on Twitter and her website.
For about four years, Gjovik claims she was subjected to sexism, harassment, bullying and retaliation from managers and colleagues. In March of 2021, the former Apple employee raised concerns about potential hazardous waste contamination at her office and filed a workers compensation claim, an action that allegedly prompted further retaliation from managers.
Attempts were made to rectify the situation through employee relations channels in April, but inquiries, including one supposedly ongoing investigation, were fruitless and potentially exacerbated matters.
Despite her objections, Gjovik was placed on administrative leave on Aug. 4.
Similar claims were lodged in a National Labor Relations Board complaint in late August. Gjovik was due to file an affidavit in that case today.
In a confusing series of events on Thursday, Apple accused Gjovik of leaking "confidential product-related information" and called for her immediate participation in an active investigation. She voiced readiness to cooperate in email correspondence with a member of Apple's Threat Assessment and Workplace Violence team on the condition that the conversation be conducted in writing, but the ER representative dismissed the offer and later referenced her decision "not to participate in the discussion."
Apple sent a notice of termination roughly two hours later. The company did not specify what intellectual property was illicitly disclosed.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The development comes as Apple faces mounting criticism from employees who feel like the tech giant doesn't do enough to address allegations of harassment, sexism, racism, inequity and other workplace issues. Some of these claims are being exposed by a group called AppleToo, which last week penned an open letter calling for action from Apple CEO Tim Cook and senior management.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
https://www.theverge.com/22648265/apple-employee-privacy-icloud-id
https://sfbayview.com/2021/03/i-thought-i-was-dying-my-apartment-was-built-on-toxic-waste/
As a very long time Apple customer I have had increasing questions about Apple's direction since 2011.
I am reminded of the 'Think Different' campaign that featured images of individuals such as the civil rights lawyer Gandhi...
I thought she was on a permanent paid leave of absence. I guess she misunderstood. lol
Yes. I think she is a lulu of a self-destructor and probably has no case.
Why in THE world human beings these days feel the need to not only pierce their bodies with needles by also inject toxins into the skin is something I will NEVER comprehend. People do it because it's popular. That's it. Then when your 70 and those tats are a horrid mess on your body, assuming the toxins don't get you first, what then?
100% Natural Skin. It does a body good.
"Do it if it feels right" isn't the best policy in life.
The termination has every appearance of being motivated by retaliation, and on that basis alone she has a case.
Rights if abused will be lost -- and probably should be lost.
I remember from my lawyering days, a divorced couple constantly pushing their "rights" and frequently going to court to get fairly trivial matters resolved by the court (custody time, vacation, etc). By constantly arguing for "their rights" they failed to recognize they had ceded "their rights" to the judge and their respective attorneys.
The fact that she claims she was exposed to toxic waste at both her apartment and her office suggests that she’s either the unluckiest person in the world or a loon.