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→RICO lawsuit: 12b6 is for the dismissal of claims; part about Aria was redundant, and we don't need to list every detail of her claims, especially if not notable and dismissed | ALL of this is WP:UNDUE for the lead. The sources are 2 appleinsider articles and a primary caselaw source. Tags: Reverted Visual edit | ||
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'''Ashley Gjøvik''' (born 1985 or 1986) is an American [[program manager]] who is known for filing more than a dozen legal complaints against her former employer, [[Apple Inc.|Apple Inc]]. Notable complaints include a dismissed [[Whistleblowing|whistleblower]] complaint and two [[Merit (law)|meritorious]] labor board charges about employee rules, which are pending prosecution. Gjøvik was terminated in 2021 by Apple for allegedly leaking confidential [[intellectual property]], which she denied. Gjøvik alleged her firing was retaliation for speaking out against the company about [[Sexism in the technology industry|sexism]], employee privacy, and [[vapor intrusion]] at a [[Sunnyvale, California]] Apple office on a [[Superfund]] site, which the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] concluded was not occurring. | '''Ashley Gjøvik''' (born 1985 or 1986) is an American [[program manager]] who is known for filing more than a dozen legal complaints against her former employer, [[Apple Inc.|Apple Inc]]. Notable complaints include a dismissed [[Whistleblowing|whistleblower]] complaint and two [[Merit (law)|meritorious]] labor board charges about employee rules, which are pending prosecution. Gjøvik was terminated in 2021 by Apple for allegedly leaking confidential [[intellectual property]], which she denied. Gjøvik alleged her firing was retaliation for speaking out against the company about [[Sexism in the technology industry|sexism]], employee privacy, and [[vapor intrusion]] at a [[Sunnyvale, California]] Apple office on a [[Superfund]] site, which the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] concluded was not occurring. | ||
In 2023, Gjøvik filed a 650-page lawsuit against Apple alleging [[Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act]] (RICO) violations, whistleblower retaliation, and environmental violations related to both the office where she worked in Sunnyvale, and a manufacturing [[research and development|R&D]] facility near her home in Santa Clara.{{efn|name=aria2}} The length created [[case law]] imposing page limits on pleadings. Much of the lawsuit was dismissed in May 2024; the federal whistleblower, Sunnyvale Superfund, and some of the RICO claims [[Prejudice (legal term)#Civil law|with prejudice]]. | |||
== Education and career == | == Education and career == | ||
Gjøvik studied [[ecology]] at [[Bennington College]] in [[Vermont]] from 2004–2005 before returning to [[Oregon]], where she completed a Bachelor of Science in [[Liberal arts education|Liberal Studies]] from [[Portland State University]] (PSU) in 2012. She earned a [[Project Management Professional]] certification in 2013.<ref name=":8">{{cite web |last=Gjøvik |first=Ashley |date=July 24, 2021 |title=Ashley Gjøvik |url=https://www.ashleygjovik.com/uploads/1/3/7/0/137008339/ashley_gjovik_resume_-_24_july_2021.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725065652/https://www.ashleygjovik.com/uploads/1/3/7/0/137008339/ashley_gjovik_resume_-_24_july_2021.pdf |archive-date=July 25, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ashley M. Gjøvik |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ashley-m-gjovik |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231215455/https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ashley-m-gjovik |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |access-date=December 31, 2021 |website=[[Business Insider]] |language=en-US}}</ref> She obtained her [[Juris Doctor|Doctor of Jurisprudence]] in 2022 from [[Santa Clara University]] (SCU) law school.<ref name=":25">{{Cite web |title=Ashley Gjovik |url=https://coe.northeastern.edu/people/gjovik-ashley/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517011628/https://coe.northeastern.edu/people/gjovik-ashley/ |archive-date=May 17, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=Northeastern University College of Engineering |language=en}}</ref> Gjøvik also studied [[transitional justice]] at [[University of Oxford]].<ref name=":5">{{cite web|last=Gjøvik|first=Ashley|date=September 16, 2021|title=I was fired from Apple after making several labor complaints against the company. Speaking out feels like going up against a powerful government.|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ashley-gjovik-apple-fired-workplace-safety-sexism-harassment-2021-9|url-status=live|access-date=December 31, 2021|website=[[Business Insider]]|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916101243/https://www.businessinsider.com/ashley-gjovik-apple-fired-workplace-safety-sexism-harassment-2021-9 |archive-date=September 16, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Cameron |first=Dell |date=October 14, 2021 |title=Apple Wanted Her Fired. It Settled On an Absurd Excuse |url=https://gizmodo.com/apple-wanted-her-fired-it-settled-on-an-absurd-excuse-1847868789 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015034030/https://gizmodo.com/apple-wanted-her-fired-it-settled-on-an-absurd-excuse-1847868789 |archive-date=October 15, 2021 |access-date=December 30, 2021 |website=[[Gizmodo]] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":13" /> | Gjøvik studied [[ecology]] at [[Bennington College]] in [[Vermont]] from 2004–2005 before returning to [[Oregon]], where she completed a Bachelor of Science in [[Liberal arts education|Liberal Studies]] from [[Portland State University]] (PSU) in 2012. She earned a [[Project Management Professional]] certification in 2013.<ref name=":8">{{cite web |last=Gjøvik |first=Ashley |date=July 24, 2021 |title=Ashley Gjøvik |url=https://www.ashleygjovik.com/uploads/1/3/7/0/137008339/ashley_gjovik_resume_-_24_july_2021.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725065652/https://www.ashleygjovik.com/uploads/1/3/7/0/137008339/ashley_gjovik_resume_-_24_july_2021.pdf |archive-date=July 25, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ashley M. Gjøvik |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ashley-m-gjovik |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231215455/https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ashley-m-gjovik |archive-date=December 31, 2021 |access-date=December 31, 2021 |website=[[Business Insider]] |language=en-US}}</ref> She obtained her [[Juris Doctor|Doctor of Jurisprudence]] in 2022 from [[Santa Clara University]] (SCU) law school.<ref name=":25">{{Cite web |title=Ashley Gjovik |url=https://coe.northeastern.edu/people/gjovik-ashley/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517011628/https://coe.northeastern.edu/people/gjovik-ashley/ |archive-date=May 17, 2024 |access-date=2024-04-05 |website=Northeastern University College of Engineering |language=en}}</ref> Gjøvik also studied [[transitional justice]] at [[University of Oxford]].<ref name=":5">{{cite web|last=Gjøvik|first=Ashley|date=September 16, 2021|title=I was fired from Apple after making several labor complaints against the company. Speaking out feels like going up against a powerful government.|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/ashley-gjovik-apple-fired-workplace-safety-sexism-harassment-2021-9|url-status=live|access-date=December 31, 2021|website=[[Business Insider]]|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916101243/https://www.businessinsider.com/ashley-gjovik-apple-fired-workplace-safety-sexism-harassment-2021-9 |archive-date=September 16, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Cameron |first=Dell |date=October 14, 2021 |title=Apple Wanted Her Fired. It Settled On an Absurd Excuse |url=https://gizmodo.com/apple-wanted-her-fired-it-settled-on-an-absurd-excuse-1847868789 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211015034030/https://gizmodo.com/apple-wanted-her-fired-it-settled-on-an-absurd-excuse-1847868789 |archive-date=October 15, 2021 |access-date=December 30, 2021 |website=[[Gizmodo]] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":13" /> |
Ashley Gjøvik | |
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![]() | |
Born | 1985 or 1986 (age 37–38)[1] |
Education | Portland State University (BS) Santa Clara University School of Law (JD) |
Occupation | Program manager |
Employer | Northeastern University |
Known for | Legal complaints against Apple Inc. |
Ashley Gjøvik (born 1985 or 1986) is an American program manager who is known for filing more than a dozen legal complaints against her former employer, Apple Inc. Notable complaints include a dismissed whistleblower complaint and two meritorious labor board charges about employee rules, which are pending prosecution. Gjøvik was terminated in 2021 by Apple for allegedly leaking confidential intellectual property, which she denied. Gjøvik alleged her firing was retaliation for speaking out against the company about sexism, employee privacy, and vapor intrusion at a Sunnyvale, California Apple office on a Superfund site, which the United States Environmental Protection Agency concluded was not occurring.
Gjøvik studied ecology at Bennington College in Vermont from 2004–2005 before returning to Oregon, where she completed a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies from Portland State University (PSU) in 2012. She earned a Project Management Professional certification in 2013.[2][3] She obtained her Doctor of Jurisprudence in 2022 from Santa Clara University (SCU) law school.[4] Gjøvik also studied transitional justice at University of Oxford.[5][1][6]
Gjøvik worked as a project manager for PSU from 2011–2013.[2] She then worked as a software release manager at Nike, Inc.,[6] where she remained until she was hired at Apple in February 2015 as a project manager of iOS releases.[2][7] In 2016, she became an engineering program manager working out of their Sunnyvale office.[2][8][9][7] In 2019, she interned in Apple's Legal Department on the AI ethics team.[2][7] She spent several months on paid leave between 2020–2021.[10][7][11][a] She was terminated in September 2021.[9] From September–December 2021, she worked as an intern at an immigration clinic that helps asylum seekers.[2][1] As of June 2024[update] she works as a program manager at Northeastern University.[4]
As of June 2024[update] she is a member of the International Bar Association and serves on the Anti-Corruption committee as the whistleblowing officer.[15]
After raising concerns internally with Apple, Gjøvik began speaking openly on Twitter and to press. Her allegations against Apple include mishandling of environmental concerns, violations of employee privacy, harassment, and retaliation.[16][8] Gjøvik said that after raising concerns internally and speaking publicly about her concerns, she was retaliated against repeatedly, and was reassigned.[8] Gjøvik said her role was embedded with executives and that she made $386,000 in 2021, which made it harder for her to speak out.[6]
In 2020, Gjøvik wrote an essay for the San Francisco Bay View about a mystery illness she said she experienced while living in a Santa Clara, California apartment complex on a Superfund site. She attributed her symptoms to exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the ground through a process called vapor intrusion.[17][10] She spent six months between February and September 2020 on short-term disability.[10][7] In June 2024, Gjøvik wrote on Mastodon, "In 2020, I nearly died from mysterious industrial chemical exposure at my apartment. ... Later, in 2023, I discovered my employer was dumping toxic waste into the apartment windows from their Skunkworks semiconductor fab next-door," with an annotated map from Apple's facility at 3250 Scott Blvd[b] in Santa Clara to her apartment building. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report about the facility included potential violations of items that were incorrectly labeled or misdated. Most of the issues were marked as resolved.[18] Gjøvik added a claim about the facility to her lawsuit in 2023.[7]
On March 17, 2021, Gjøvik received an email from Apple's environmental health and safety team notifying staff of forthcoming vapor intrusion testing at her office (Stewart 1), a Sunnyvale building leased by Apple on a Superfund site managed by Northrop Grumman,[8][19] which she said sent off "alarm bells."[17] Gjøvik said she had fainted at work and did not know why, leading her to question Apple about prior testing and potential health issues from "chemical exposure." She says she was told not to discuss her concerns with other employees and was subsequently harassed and humiliated.[1][20][8] Gjøvik requested Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) accommodations to avoid working at the office, but refused to fill out a medical release form to allow Apple to access her medical records and never received the accommodation.[21] A study in 2019 determined the issues had been addressed,[1] but she believed employees were exposed to carcinogenic fumes through cracks in the floor.[22] The EPA concluded in 2023 that vapor intrusion was being prevented after a 2021 site evaluation and field testing.[23][24]
Gjøvik alleged that Apple pressured her into revealing details of sexual harassment she experienced after she mentioned the incident in an unrelated meeting with a member of Apple's human resources department. She said that Apple took no action related to her report except to reveal her to the employee she accused.[1]
In July 2021, Apple investigated Gjøvik's allegations of sex discrimination from a male manager.[11][12] On August 2, 2021, following the closure of the investigation finding no wrongdoing, she wrote on Twitter about the experience, "Wanted to share: #Apple employee relations confirmed this #tonepolicing is totally ok feedback for me to get from my #bigtech #male leaders & not #sexist. As this investigation rolls on, I've decided to start Tweeting the stuff they say is 'ok.' I mean, they did say it was ok?" In the tweet, she attached a screenshot of feedback from a manager who wrote that he "didn't hear you going up an octave at the end of your statements" and that she "came across as much more authoritative." In a follow up tweet, she wrote, "Someone needs to give me a Purple Heart."[25][11][9]
In an August 4, 2021 interview with The Verge, Gjøvik stated, "I asked them to mitigate the hostile work environment while they investigate, and they initially offered me EAP therapy and medical leave.[c] ... I added that if there was no other option they could give me paid administrative leave." She was then placed on the second of two paid administrative leaves[d] for the duration of the re-investigation of her claims. She also said, "implied they did not want me on Slack ... They also implied they didn't want me to meet one-on-one with other women at the company,"[11] which they denied in follow-up emails Gjøvik posted on her website and on Twitter.[12]
On August 30, 2021, Gjøvik and other Apple employees said they were discouraged from keeping separate phones for personal and professional use and were expected to help test software with informed consent.[1][16] Program manager Janneke Parrish also said this in an interview.[27] In 2018, Gjøvik's engineering team was involved in a lawsuit and her work devices were placed under legal hold. When she asked if she could delete nude photographs on the phone, she said the lawyers said no. Gjøvik also spoke about data privacy concerns of internal tools such as a bug tracking tool called "Radar" and an app for testing Face ID, "Glimmer."[e] The app took photos and brief videos when it sensed a face. She described Glimmer as "spyware" and expressed concern about the inability to delete a 2019 bug report she filed of a selfie she took in bed. Apple instructs its employees not to upload sensitive, confidential, or private data to work tools.[1][16]
In September 2021, Gjøvik criticized Apple's employee privacy policy, which she said states that workers have no expectation of privacy when using a personal device for Apple business. She said the implication of possible employee surveillance under the policies led her to walk around her apartment and unplug all of her electronics and remove all of her personal information off of Apple's servers.[29]
On September 9, 2021, a member of Apple's human resources team contacted her, asking to speak about "a sensitive Intellectual Property matter". Gjøvik replied that she would speak to them, but that the conversation would need to be captured in writing, and she would forward it to the NLRB.[1][9] Apple replied, "Since you have chosen not to participate in the discussion ... we will move forward with the information that we have" and suspended her employee access. She was formally fired in a third email later that day which stated she had "engaged in conduct that warrants termination of employment, including, but not limited to, violations of Apple policies". The violations claimed by Apple were that she had "disclosed confidential product-related information in violation of Apple policies" and that she had "failed to cooperate and to provide accurate and complete information during the Apple investigatory process".[1][9] Gjøvik denied these allegations, referring to the termination as retaliation for speaking out and filing complaints about the company with multiple agencies.[13][30][31]
On September 15, 2021, Gjøvik received an email from O'Melveny & Myers law firm, on behalf of Apple, with a request to delete two tweets they said violated the confidentially agreement she signed. The tweets were of a photograph of her automatically captured by the Face ID testing app Glimmer and screenshots of an employee email soliciting 3D ear scans related to AirPods development. Gjøvik complied with the request to remove the tweets, but argued via her lawyer that the material she shared was not labeled confidential, did not contain anything proprietary or secret, and that the photograph of her could not reasonably be argued to be copyrighted by Apple.[1]
Gjøvik filed numerous complaints with at least 11 agencies. She asked for reinstatement if the agencies find that Apple fired her unlawfully.[6] She filed a civil lawsuit with 15[f][b] causes of action in September 2023.[38][7]
Date | Claim | Venue | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|
2021-08 | Vapor intrusion at Stewart 1[1] | United States Environmental Protection Agency | ![]() | No vapor intrusion[23][24] |
2021-08 | Conflict of interest[8][7] | U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission | ? | |
2021-08 | Retaliation and harassment[30] | National Labor Relations Board | ? | Pending as of January 2023[update][22] |
2021-09 | Termination as retaliation[30] | National Labor Relations Board | ? | Pending as of January 2023[update][22] |
2021-09 | Whistleblower retaliation (SOX)[8] | United States Department of Labor | ![]() | Dismissed;[39][40] in lawsuit[38] |
2021-09 | Whistleblower retaliation (CERCLA)[8] | United States Department of Labor | ? | Dismissed;[39][40] appealed[40] |
2021-09 | Retaliation for safety activities[30] | Cal OSHA[41] | ![]() | Closed; in lawsuit[7] |
2021-09 | Whistleblower retaliation[30] | California Division of Labor Standard Enforcement | ![]() | Closed; in lawsuit[38] |
2021-09 | Discrimination and harassment[42] | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | ![]() | No inquiry;[g] right to sue[45] |
2021-09 | Discrimination and harassment[42] | California Civil Rights Department (Formerly DFEH) | ![]() | No inquiry;[g] right to sue[45] |
2021-09 | Witness intimidation[7][41] | United States Department of Justice[46] | ? | |
2021-10 | Illegal employer work rules[47] | National Labor Relations Board | ? | Merit; pending prosecution[48] |
2021-10 | Illegal employer communication[49] | National Labor Relations Board | ? | Merit; pending prosecution[50] |
2022-04 | Invasion of employee privacy[51] | UK Information Commissioner's Office | ? | Assessing as of April 2022[update][51] |
2022-04 | Invasion of employee privacy[51] | Brussels European Commissioner | ? | |
2022-04 | Invasion of employee privacy[51] | Ireland Data Protection Commissioner | ? | |
2023-09 | Fraud, bribery, extortion (RICO)[38] | US District Court for the ND of California | ![]() | Dismissed[h] |
2023-09 | Whistleblower retaliation (SOX)[8] | US District Court for the ND of California | ![]() | Dismissed with prejudice[7] |
2023-09 | Whistleblower retaliation (Dodd–Frank)[8] | US District Court for the ND of California | ![]() | Dismissed with prejudice[7] |
2023-09 | Whistleblower retaliation[30] | US District Court for the ND of California | ![]() | Dismissed[7] |
2023-09 | Hazardous waste at Stewart 1[7] | US District Court for the ND of California | ![]() | Dismissed with prejudice[7] |
2023-09 | Discrimination and harassment[42] (Bane) | US District Court for the ND of California | ![]() | Dismissed[7] |
2023-09 | Discrimination and harassment[42] (Ralph) | US District Court for the ND of California | ![]() | Dismissed[7] |
2023-09 | Retaliation for safety activities[7] | US District Court for the ND of California | ? | |
2023-09 | Wrongful dismissal[7] | US District Court for the ND of California | ? |
On August 26, 2021, Gjøvik filed a charge with the NLRB, alleging retaliation as well as harassment by a manager and forced administrative leave.[52]
Following her termination and subsequent retaliation charges, Gjøvik filed two additional charges with the NLRB against Apple in October 2021 following news of a company-wide memo from Tim Cook sent to employees on September 21, 2021.[47] The memo was criticized for conflating product leaks with employee activism around workplace conditions, and for including the line, "people who leak confidential information do not belong here," which some interpreted as threatening.[53] Gjøvik alleged that the memo violated the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, and additionally challenged several policies in the employee handbook that she said illegally inhibit staff from exercising their federally-protected rights to talk to the press, discuss wages, and post on social media.[54][55] She, and some other legal professionals, believe that this particular charge, if prosecuted, could overturn a "Trump Era" precedent governing workplace policies involving Boeing from December 2017,[55] which weigh employee rights against legitimate business interests.[56] She said she hopes to disrupt the company's culture of secrecy.[47]
On January 30, 2023, the NLRB found merit to five charges, two of which were brought by Gjøvik,[50] that "various work rules, handbook rules, and confidentiality rules" imposed by Apple and its executives "tend to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees" from exercising their legal rights to collective action and to speak with the media.[20][22][48] The NLRB has not yet ruled in response to Gjøvik's individual charges.[22]
In August 2021, Gjøvik filed a whistleblower tip with the SEC related to the Superfund site at Stewart 1 and a potential conflict of interest with Ronald Sugar, an Apple board member and former CEO of the site's owner Northrop Grumman.[8][57][58] After she was terminated, Gjøvik filed a whistleblower retaliation complaint with the DOL and OSHA.[8][57] In September and November 2021, she was notified her OSHA retaliation complaint was forwarded to the California Division of Labor Standard Enforcement (DSLE),[39] where she had already filed a complaint herself,[30] and her SOX and CERCLA complaints were being dismissed as invalid. Gjøvik escalated the complaint to Seema Nanda, the US Solicitor of Labor.[39] In December 2021, the DOL opened an investigation.[8] It was dismissed again in December 2023. She appealed the CERCLA complaint to be heard by the DOL Office of Administrative Law Judges.[40] A hearing is scheduled for March 2025.[59] Gjøvik said she "kicked-out" the SOX complaint, alleging the DOL engaged in obstruction and extortion, adding it instead to a civil lawsuit. The DLSE complaint was also moved to the lawsuit.[38]
On September 7, 2023, Gjøvik filed a lawsuit against Apple under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and whistleblower retaliation under SOX and Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The lawsuit alleged a wide variety of violations, including wire fraud, mail fraud, and securities fraud, as well as state level bribery and extortion.[38] Her third pleading in the case was dismissed with leave to amend by the court in January 2024 under Federal Civil Rule 8(a) because it was more than 650 pages long and lacked clarity and readability; the ruling created case law imposing a 75-page limit on pleadings.[60]
In May 2024, 10 of the lawsuit's 15 claims were dismissed in their entirety, and 3 more were dismissed in part, under Federal Civil Rule 12(b)(6). The whistleblower retaliation claims under SOX and Dodd–Frank, portions of the RICO claim were dismissed, and the claims about Stewart 1 office in Sunnyvale with prejudice. The other dismissed claims, including the claim related to the DSLE whistleblower complaint, were dismissed with leave to amend. The remaining two claims, retaliation for safety activities and termination in violation of public policy, and the partial claims relating to Apple's facility in Santa Clara near her apartment,[b] were not challenged under 12(b)(6).[61]