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Apple Fires Whistleblower After She Files a Case Against Company

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Apple logo, breaking up, in front of gradientAshley Gjøvik has been anything but quiet with her whistleblowing. She brought up concerns about health and safety, harassment, and sexism. She had the receipts too. Apple had reportedly dismissed all of her very real concerns rather than investigate. She eventually gave up on Apple’s refusal to do anything about the problems she raised. On Twitter, she shared information as well as email exchanges and other messages, redacting names and confidential information. In fact, the items she shared were often hard to follow because she redacted so much, but, this is Apple we’re talking about, you can’t be too careful.

Still, she aired Apple’s dirty laundry. Confidential or not, she ruffled feathers at one of the largest and most powerful companies in the world. While firing her for revealing everything from unsafe working conditions that should concern OSHA to obvious sexism and retaliation would be illegal, Apple seems to have offered little to defend themselves. However, to the trillion dollar company, what’s a few small fines from labor boards?

Apple attempted to force employees back to the office sooner than they were ready. In fact, as delta surged, Apple was reluctant to give in and push back their in-office plans. Still, for many employees, it was the last straw. A smaller issue that caused them to face all the many other larger, systemic issues at Apple. Since then, employees start speaking up about conditions with stories of racism, sexism, harassment and assault, and dangerous workplaces.

Apple has always been a secretive company. Now the secret about Apple’s workplace culture is out. It doesn’t shine a good light on Apple, how they treat their employees, or how they actually feel about privacy. It shows how we, as consumers, should reconsider our Apple love.

Whistleblower Fired

“I’m disappointed that a company I have loved since I was a little girl would treat their employees this way.”

– Ashley Gjøvik

Gjøvik’s problems at Apple began some time ago, initially with problems relating to a story she published regarding unsafe conditions at her apartment. From there, complaints snowballed. Apple opened investigations without her permission into her employee’s behavior, letting them know she was the reason they were investigating. She faced further sexism and retaliation, even comments on how she talked. She raised complaints about people having ammunition, talking about guns, and openly researching weapons at the company. Apple continued to be unhelpful. Eventually, she was placed on leave.

Apple received notice of Gjøvik’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) complaint. Shortly after this, and a tweet bringing up some potentially illegal activities Apple engaged in to stifle leaks, she received an email from Apple. They asked her to join a video call. She asked for all communication to be in writing or, alternatively, that she be allowed to record the call. Instead of responding, Apple held a meeting without her and chose to fire her for allegedly leaking “sensitive intellectual property matter.” They gave no further details and, since they didn’t allow Gjøvik to attend without the—very reasonable—request for documentation on the discussion, we may not know what happened behind closed doors. Apple perhaps didn’t want Gjøvik to be able to use any part of the discussion. Now Gjøvik can sue.

Labor Boards Investigating

Even before Apple fired Ashley Gjøvik, numerous employees reported Apple to California’s labor board and the NLRB. Employees have complained of harassment, violence, sexual harassment, discrimination, racism, misogyny, and more. While Apple’s secrecy has protected the company in the past, it seems as though a dam has broken. Now they could face lawsuits regarding sexism and retaliation.

Regardless of the outcome of these lawsuits, the image of Apple being a glistening, innovative, wonderful place for tech employees has shattered. It’s a shame it was an illusion all along. The problem for us, as supportive consumers, is the duopoly Apple has over tech. Google has similar and, in many cases, worse complaints. It’s hard to answer with a full boycott when there’s no where else to go. But maybe don’t buy that new shiny Apple product you don’t need? Money talks.

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