ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / NEWS

Apple Allegedly Paid Women Less Than Men for Similar Work, Now They Are Suing It for Discrimination

If Apple loses, the company could owe thousands in back pay to 12,000 current and former female employees.
PUBLISHED JUN 20, 2024
Cover Image Source: The Apple logo is displayed at the Apple Store | Getty Images | Photo by Eric Thayer
Cover Image Source: The Apple logo is displayed at the Apple Store | Getty Images | Photo by Eric Thayer

Two female employees sued Apple last week alleging gender pay discrimination, harassment, and four other violations. Justina Jong and Amina Salgado filed the class-action suit in California which alleges that Apple is paying women less than male employees for "substantially similar" work. The two employees claim the gender pay gap is “willful” and “systematic” due to Apple’s policies, as reported by PC Mag, citing court papers.



 

The class-action lawsuit alleges that Apple violated the California Equal Pay Act. In 2018, the act made it illegal for employers to ask job candidates about their pay expectations. However, the lawsuit alleges that Apple circumvented the law by asking new hires about their pay expectations instead of histories. The lawsuit alleges that it is essentially the same as asking about prior pay.

The complaint claims that studies have shown that pay expectations are highly correlated with prior pay. Further, the suit alleges that Apple used this information to set starting salaries which led to women getting lower pay rates compared to men who did similar work.

The exterior of the downtown Apple Store | Getty Images | Photo by George Rose
The exterior of the downtown Apple Store | Getty Images | Photo by George Rose

Salgado, who has served in several roles at Apple since 2012, registered numerous complaints with the company regarding the wage gap, according to the lawsuit. Following the complaints, Apple hired a third-party firm to investigate. In late 2023, the firm found that Salgado was indeed paid less than her male counterparts. To compensate, Apple increased Salgado’s pay but refused to back pay for past years where she was paid less than men.

The other plaintiff, Justina Jong who works as a customer and technical training instructor, claimed that she once saw a W2 form of a male colleague and realized he was paid substantially more than her.

“I noticed that he was being paid almost $10,000 more than me, even though we performed substantially similar work. This revelation made me feel terrible,” Jong said in a statement, as reported by CNN.

The lawsuit further accuses Apple of discriminatory review practices as well. The suit alleges that Apple’s performance evaluation system is biased against women. In categories such as teamwork and leadership, men are rewarded and women are penalized for the same behaviors, the complaint alleges.

 A view of the Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park | Getty Images | Photo by Justin Sullivan
A view of the Steve Jobs Theatre at Apple Park | Getty Images | Photo by Justin Sullivan

The discrimination in evaluation scores has further contributed to the pay gap as the bonuses, Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), and pay increases at Apple, are linked to the evaluation system, the plaintiffs allege.

In the lawsuit, Jong also alleged that Apple forced her to work in a hostile environment. Jong alleges that she was forced to sit next to a co-worker who had previously sexually harassed her. Upon requesting her manager to move her desk, Jong’s "willingness to perform her job and collaborate" with the colleague was allegedly "questioned." Jong was allegedly advised to be professional, respectful, and collaborative and her request for a non-hostile workplace was ignored, the complaint said as per an Ars Technica report. Jong says the experience caused her "profound emotional distress and mental anguish” including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

The lawsuit claims that the class members are entitled to compensation from Apple for suffering the loss of fair wages. The Ars Technica report estimates that Apple may owe a massive amount in back pay and other damages if the women win. It could lead to all 12,000 class members receiving the compensation. Apple could also face hundreds in civil penalties.

This isn’t the first time a major tech company has faced legal challenges for alleged gender discrimination. Back in 2018, Google forked out $118 million to settle a class action gender discrimination lawsuit, per CNN.



 

Earlier this year, Oracle America agreed to pay $25 million to settle a severe year-long-running class action suit which accused the company of paying 4,000 female employees less than their male counterparts for the same work.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
'I have to say that I haven't seen very many of these,' expert Bill Harriman said, before revealing its potential value.
8 hours ago
This coin survived the Titanic, but it was too expensive for Rick Harrison to bag.
10 hours ago
The guest had preserved her great-grandmother's necklace for 35 years, unaware that it was a rare Louis Comfort Tiffany piece.
11 hours ago
Even though contestant Vicki Rowe took the loss gracefully, fans weren't happy with the unsual Bonus Round puzzle.
12 hours ago
Even though Rick Harrison made a bold bid for the car that was verified, the guest decided to keep it.
14 hours ago
According to the expert, personal letters and a signature from Tolkien himself added to the value of the book.
1 day ago
Chistina and Katie Currie won over $88,000 in cash and two exotic vacations with their stunning performance.
1 day ago
After everyone backed out, the billionaire Shark stepped up to help the founder of Diaper Dust.
2 days ago
Sun kept repeating the incorrect phrase but couldn't identify the error in time.
2 days ago
After almost closing a deal with Mr Wonderful, the founder of 'Simply Good Jars' pivoted hard.
2 days ago
The host thought it was the "worst possible answer" to give even as the team felt it was good enough.
3 days ago
Adding to the controversy, the owner of Dr. Mudd's lapdesk asked Harrison for $100,000.
3 days ago
With just milliseconds to spare, Sarah LaPilusa pulled off an incredible Bonus Round win.
3 days ago
Ozark Trail 64 oz Water Bottles were recalled after the lids of faulty bottles forcefully ejected.
4 days ago
The player laughed and giggled her way through the puzzles to win prizes worth over $57,000.
4 days ago
Scott Riccardi placed an unbelievable wager during Final Jeopardy! to win a massive amount in a day!
4 days ago
The guest got a 200% return on investment on her sculpture that she bought from Macy's.
4 days ago
Jennings had a record-setting winning streak as a contestant before he became the host.
5 days ago
The player, Ron Wheeler, tragically got no clues after his letter picks for the final puzzle.
5 days ago
The former kids champion, Skyler Hornback knew what was coming.
5 days ago