Apple shares internal memo claiming employees can speak openly about pay and working conditions

Tim Cook.

Apple

• Apple posted a new memo saying workers have the right to speak out about working conditions and pay.
• NBC reported that the internal memo was shared with the company's 80,000 US employees.
• It comes months after Apple workers went public with allegations of harassment and discrimination. 

Apple has been plagued with claims of harassment and discrimination since 15 employees launched the Apple Too website in August. The allegations mainly came from the company's retail staff.

Cher Scarlett, a former AppleToo organizer and engineer at the company, told Insider at the time that she believed the HR department "didn't really consider anything they complained about to be an issue."

Now, in an internal memo obtained by NBC News, Apple has announced its employees have the right to openly voice any concerns about pay equality or working conditions.

According to the outlet, the memo was published on the company's internal people site on Saturday. It was accessible to all 80,000 salaried and hourly US employees, the outlet added.

Per NBC's report, the memo states: "Our policies do not restrict employees from speaking freely about their wages, hours, or working conditions."

It continues: "We encourage any employee with concerns to raise them in the way they feel most comfortable, internally or externally, including through their manager, any Apple manager, People Support, People Business Partner, or Business Conduct."

Since the #AppleToo movement began, eight unfair labor charges have been filed against Apple, although one has since been dismissed, NBC News reported.

Earlier this week, Scarlett announced that she had reached a settlement with Apple and was leaving the company.

Insider reported earlier this month that another ex-employee, Janneke Parrish, accused the company of retaliating after she tried to highlight problems of discrimination and harassment. 

In a statement to Reuters, which was issued in response to the report about Parrish, Apple said it didn't discuss matters pertaining to individual employees. It added that it was "deeply committed to creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace."

Prior to posting Saturday's memo, Apple claimed that the language in its business conduct policy adequately covered the issues under the spotlight, The Verge reported.

The policy states that no part of their NDA policies should restrict their employees' free speech with regard to workplace conditions or equal pay.  

The #AppleToo open letter that was sent to Tim Cook and the senior leadership team in August called into question the extent to which the policy has been enforced.

"Apple prides itself on its commitment to diversity, equity, and an environment where every person is able to do their best work; however, in practice, this is far from the case," it stated.