A proposed class-action lawsuit against Apple, which alleges that the company underpays its female staff, is going forward after all.
Even though Apple claims it takes the issue of gender discrimination seriously, with the company even having an entire webpage dedicated to diversity, the iPhone maker has faced serious criticism. In June 2024, a class-action lawsuit against Apple alleged that the company systematically underpays its female employees across multiple divisions, including AppleCare, engineering, and marketing.
According to the class-action lawsuit, Apple based its employee pay on “prior pay and pay expectations to set starting salaries,” meaning that women are paid less from the get-go. The company’s performance evaluations are also said to favor men, who are often rewarded with bonuses and raises based on talent, while their female coworkers are not provided with the same treatment.
Apple apparently attempted to argue that the pay disparities were “justified” and that they didn’t occur as part of a pattern or policy designed to underpay women. California Superior Court Judge Ethan P. Schulman disagreed with Apple’s argument, explaining that the plaintiffs demonstrated a clear pattern, as was reported by Ars Technica.
“Plaintiffs sufficiently allege that Defendant’s salary decisions are made in a centralized location pursuant to an employment policy which appears facially neutral but ‘has had the effect of perpetuating past pay disparities and paying women less than men performing substantially similar work,'” the judge said.
This ultimately means that the class-action lawsuit is going forward, albeit with some caveats. Though most of Apple’s arguments were dismissed, the iPhone maker did manage to stop efforts to seize back pay for former Apple employees, who were allegedly affected by the company’s discriminatory policies.
One of the plaintiffs in the case, Justina Jong, said that she experienced sexual harassment from a senior member of an Apple talent development team, and that the company refused to transfer her away from the offender despite repeated requests.
Schulman again disagreed with Apple, saying that Jong wanted much more than a mere “seating assignment” to rectify the situation. The judge said that Jong had successfully alleged that “severe or pervasive conduct” occurred on more than one occasion. Apple’s claims that it tried to move her to a different position within the company were also dismissed.
The plaintiffs in this case are represented by Outten & Golden, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, and Altshuler Berzon. These law firms are known for brokering settlements with Goldman Sachs and Sterling Jewelers.
While Apple planned to have the lawsuit dismissed, the company was ultimately unsuccessful for the most part, as the class-action is still going forward. The lawyer representing the plaintiffs, Eve Cervantez, was pleased with the ruling, saying that she’s glad women working at Apple will finally have their day in court.
This story originally appeared on Appleinsider
