Marcus Mendes at 9TO5Mac reports the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has overturned a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that found Apple in violation of Federal Labor Law at its World Trade Center retail store in New York.
The case centered on events from 2022, during a Union Organizing Campaign by Apple store employees in coordination with the Communications Workers of America (CWA). One Employee testified a senior manager asked him whether he had been speaking with Co-Workers about pay and how many people he had spoken to. The manager also allegedly inquired about Unionization efforts.
The NLRB found this exchange to be a “coercive interrogation” and found Apple violated the law by selectively removing Union literature from the break-room, while allowing other non-work-related materials to remain.
On the interrogation claim the Fifth Circuit rejected the NLRB’s finding that Apple’s manager unlawfully interrogated Vasquez and emphasized the conversation happened in public on the sales floor as part of a routine check-in. It also noted the Employee’s own testimony acknowledged he intentionally concealed his involvement in the organizing effort as a strategy to keep the campaign quiet until it went public days later. On the flyer removal claim the NLRB argued Apple’s enforcement was selective, which would have violated the law – but the Fifth Circuit again sided with Apple, pointing to consistent testimony that managers removed a variety of unattended written materials, including personal event flyers and farewell party notices.
To Read This Labor News Report In Its Entirety, Go To: Apple cleared in case tied to union-busting allegations at NYC store – 9to5Mac
