Thread by @ashleygjovik

🧵 This 12/29 NLRB charge is complicated & I didn't have the energy to explain it last night, but let me try now. There's 3 parts to it. First, Apple tried to get me to sign something called a discovery "protective order" to make my pay/benefits/perf reviews & complaints secret.

The Orders can be abused in litigation. They're meant for Trade Secrets or other protected info, & doc/topic specific, not blanket. A party Motions & lobby a judge why they think they need it. Apple tried to coerce me to voluntarily enter a very broad 1 for everything in my case.

The doc Apple sent attempted to look standard but Apple provided me a 2nd doc with their interpretation of that agreement, which covered my basic personnel & work condition info, & all my claims.

If I signed, I cld be sanctioned & found in contempt if I talked about those topics

Part 2 was Apple attempted to orchestrate all of this in a predatory & coercive manuever, camouflaged as normal litigation procedures.

Apple unilaterally declared we were bound by an early discovery Order for the entire case, & that I owed them all of my discovery 10min prior.

In reality, discovery would not start in my case for several months, & when it does, its highly choreographed with discrete phases. The Order Apple pointed to did not apply to my case (confirmed), but Apple lied that it did & tried to convince me I missed a major Court deadline.

Apple tried to do all of this as they knew I was frantically working on my 2nd amended complaint & opposition to their motion to dismiss (due 3 days later) & my OSH Act & CERCLA appeal (first due 5 days later)

& this was the moment Apple tried to get me sign the Protective Order

Part III, in their Motion to Dismiss, Apple claimed employees have no protection for their speech at all, and employers like Apple can fire employees like me for speaking about work conditions & labor concerns.

Apple even suggested the court erase these claims from my complaint

In addition, Apple's Protective Order & disclosure docs tried to declare Apple's Employee Misconduct & Discipline policy was secret, & if I signed/agreed, then I probably could no longer testify in my NLRB policy case (as it's one of the policies NLRB said was illegal). #BadApple

Apple bullied & intimidated me like this, after Apple filed a v weak (& maybe unlawful) motion to dismiss, which they did withdraw after I filed my opp

Meanwhile, Apple continues to shift its story about what it did to me & Apple even admits it still doesn't know why it fired me

There's a long history of NLRB cases where the Board will review Employer's actions in court against the Employee as possible NLRA violations if retaliatory & baseless.

The most famous is prob Bill Johnson's Restaurants v NLRB, which was upheld by SCOTUS.
supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/…

I think a key factor here will be that Apple & their agent (Counsel) were doing/saying these things directly to the Employee

I'm representing myself, so there's no 7-degrees of Kevin Bacon excuse

My ex-employer is harassing me directly, which quickly triggers all the labor laws

Closing the loop that the outcome appears to be "rabid raccoon attacks me & now I have to get a tetanus shot"

Apple: "We will give you a copy of the policy we claim you violated if you promise to keep it secret & not talk to anyone about it."

Me: (deep sigh). "Apple, that policy is Exhibit 4 in my affidavit that triggered the US government lawsuit against you for violating federal law."

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