'We strongly disagree with these claims and believe they lack merit,' spokesperson says of lawsuit
Apple has said it "strongly" disagrees with the allegations that it is infringing on employees' privacy by subjecting them to surveillance through both personal and company-managed devices.
The allegations stem from a lawsuit filed by employee Amar Bhakta, who accused Apple of requiring employees to waive their privacy rights, The Verge reported.
Bhakta alleged that the data from their personal iPhones that were linked to the tech giant's internal software were "subject to search by Apple," with location and other personal information being collected even when employees are off the clock.
He is also alleging that Apple has illegal wage clawback policies and that it forbade him from engaging in public speaking about digital advertising, his area of expertise.
Apple also required him to remove and edit unprotected information about his working conditions and work at the tech giant from his LinkedIn profile.
Josh Rosenstock, Apple spokesperson, addressed the allegations in a statement to The Verge.
"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," Rosenstock told the news outlet.
"Every employee has the right to discuss their wages, hours and working conditions and this is part of our business conduct policy, which all employees are trained on annually. We strongly disagree with these claims and believe they lack merit."
Surveillance in workplaces
In his lawsuit, Bhakta also described Apple's ecosystem as a prison yard for employees.
"For Apple's employees, the Apple ecosystem is not a walled garden. It is a prison yard," the lawsuit read. "A panopticon where employees, both on and off duty, are ever subject to Apple's all-seeing eye."
Allegations of employee surveillance are also faced by other major organisations, with Amazon already fined in France for "excessive" monitoring of workers' activities and performance.
Employee surveillance has long been a controversial topic in workplaces, especially during the pandemic, after some employers resorted to monitoring tools to measure productivity among remote staff.
Rosette Cataldo, former vice president, performance, and talent strategy from Workhuman, previously told HRD that a better way to check employee productivity is by looking at their progress in terms of creating goals and feedback moments through the tools they provide.
"There is a need to find and see productivity received through our tool by looking at interactions through connections or data that gives you beautiful insights on how people are connecting with each other in a way," she previously told HRD.
