Apple’s lawyers outlined exactly what they wanted engineer Cher Scarlett to say following her recent departure, limiting her remarks to only: “After 18 months at Apple, I’ve decided it is time to move on and pursue other opportunities.”
Scarlett described the language, which was included in a strict nondisclosure and non-disparagement clause as part of a separation agreement Apple offered her last month, as “ridiculous.” “I was startled,” Scarlett said of her months of work at Apple to achieve pay fairness, which she claims resulted in harassment from coworkers and intimidation from the corporation. “I believe I should be entitled to say whatever I want as long as I don’t criticize Apple.” Scarlett’s thoughts were still fresh from the gag order, which she had refused to sign, when Apple made a series of shocking assertions to the SEC on October 18. Apple told the SEC that its “policy is to not use such clauses” in response to a shareholder proposal that it assess the potential risk of using NDAs “in the context of harassment, discrimination, and other unlawful acts.” As a result, Apple’s lawyers claimed that the company had already addressed activist shareholders’ concerns.
Scarlett filed a whistleblower lawsuit with the SEC on October 25, citing her own experience receiving NDAs from Apple. Scarlett claims Apple made “false or misleading assertions” to the agency, according to the complaint, which Insider has obtained. In her SEC complaint, Scarlett included a copy of the settlement agreement Apple offered her, describing how the company included a “statement I was allowed to say about my leaving the company being a personal decision, rather than fleeing a hostile work environment after attempting to exercise my rights and help others organize” in accordance with federal labor laws.
Scarlett disclosed the NDA she received from Apple with Nia Impact Capital, an activist investor attempting to force a shareholder vote on the company’s NDA transparency. Nia alerted the SEC on Monday that it had “received confidentially given information suggesting Apple has sought to use concealment provisions in the context of discrimination, harassment, and other workplace labor violation allegations,” according to Nia.
Scarlett claimed that she was the source of this information on Monday evening.