San Francisco, CA — Apple Inc. is under legal scrutiny as a judge recently denied the tech giant’s effort to dismiss a sizable lawsuit alleging gender pay disparity within the company. This lawsuit was spurred when an employee discovered pay discrepancies after inadvertently seeing a male colleague’s tax document which suggested unequal payment for similar roles.
Justina Jong, associated with Apple’s retail and marketing division for over ten years, stumbled upon a W-2 form in 2019 that displayed her male coworker’s compensation. The document apparently revealed that he earned nearly $10,000 more than Jong for performing equivalent work. This discovery led Jong to file a lawsuit in June, which has now escalated, potentially impacting over 12,000 current and former female employees across various sectors of Apple in California.
According to Jong’s legal claims, Apple’s previous recruitment practices involved inquiring about previous salaries which allegedly initiated a cycle of lower compensation for women. Despite changes in California law in 2018 that prohibit employers from asking about salary history, Apple adapted by inquiring about salary expectations instead. The lawsuit posits that this practice still bases compensation on historical pay scales, perpetuating the pay disparity.
Last week’s judicial ruling in San Francisco Superior Court by Judge Ethan Schulman has allowed the lawsuit to inch closer to achieving class-action status, amplifying its potential impact. Apple, a company valued at over $3 trillion and spearheaded by CEO Tim Cook, who earned $74.6 million last year, did not comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.
Apple’s defense argues that the differences in pay are tied to individual managerial decisions and varied employee circumstances, challenging the feasibility of a class-action format. However, Schulman’s directive requires further evidential examination to ascertain if collective legal action is appropriate, given the shared nature of the allegations among potential class members.
The judge also responded to Apple’s claims that no specific company-wide policy has been identified as causing wage disparities. Schulman deemed the provided allegations, which suggest that compensation policies at Apple are centrally determined and uniformly applied across California employees, sufficient to proceed with the gender gap claims.
This legal battle highlights broader issues of gender discrimination within the technology sector. Notably, similar cases have emerged in Silicon Valley, with Google settling a lawsuit for $118 million and HP enterprises addressing pay discrimination allegations with a $1.45 million payout.
Apple’s recent diversity reports mirror the industry average, indicating that about one-third of its workforce is female. Beyond pay disparities, Jong’s lawsuit also includes allegations of sexual harassment spanning from 2015 to 2022, further complicating the company’s legal challenges.
Moreover, allegations of inappropriate conduct by a senior member from Apple’s talent development team are under scrutiny. Despite Jong’s departmental transfer, she reported continued discomfort as her new office was situated next to the alleged harasser. Apple refuted the claims stating the harassment did not meet the legal criteria of being severe or pervasive, a claim differing from Schulman’s interpretation of the alleged continuous behavior as both severe and pervasive.
The pending court decision on whether this lawsuit achieves class-action status will determine if a broader group of women, encompassing those employed in relevant departments over the previous four years and potentially extending till the lawsuit’s conclusion, can collectively pursue claims against Apple.
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