The proposed class-action lawsuit reportedly alleges Apple pays women less than their male counterparts for the same type of work.
Two women employees at Apple have filed a lawsuit against the tech giant in California, alleging gender pay discrimination. The lawsuit claims Apple systematically paid women less than men for the same roles and seeks to initiate a class action representing over 12,000 current and former female employees in the engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions.
The plaintiffs argue that Apple’s hiring practices and performance evaluations have perpetuated a wage gap. They allege that the company’s practice of asking candidates about pay expectations, rather than prior pay, has resulted in lower starting salaries for women since California’s 2018 law prohibiting inquiries about prior pay.
One plaintiff, Justina Jong, discovered the pay disparity when she accidentally saw a male colleague’s W-2 form, revealing he earned nearly $10,000 more for similar work. Jong also alleges a hostile work environment due to working alongside a co-worker who had sexually harassed her.
The second plaintiff, Amina Salgado, who has been with Apple since 2012, raised concerns about wage disparities, leading to a third-party investigation in late 2023. While the investigation confirmed she was underpaid and her compensation was increased, Salgado claims Apple refused to provide back pay for the years she was paid less than her male counterparts.
Apple is not the first tech company to face such allegations. In 2018, Google settled a gender discrimination lawsuit for $118 million, and Oracle settled similar allegations for $25 million. Both companies settled without admitting wrongdoing.
