The move means Apple will face a vote on the proposal at its annual shareholder meeting next year, barring a deal with the worker.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has denied Apple Inc.’s bid to pull out a shareholder offer that would require the company to notify investors about its use of non-disclosure agreements and other concealment clauses, Which have been seen according to a document. Reuters,
(Sign up for today’s cache of our technology newsletter, for insights on emerging topics at the intersection of technology, business and policy. Click Here To subscribe for free.)
The move means Apple will face a vote on the proposal at its annual shareholder meeting next year, barring a deal with the worker. Apple has said its policy is not to use concealment terms, but at least one former employee has disputed that and filed a whistleblower complaint with the securities regulator.
Read also | Former Apple worker inspired Washington state’s measure to curb NDA
In September, investor Nia Impact Capital filed a shareholder resolution calling on Apple’s board to “produce a public report assessing the potential risks to the company associated with the use of concealment clauses in the context of harassment, discrimination and other unlawful acts.” was called.”
Apple filed a response with the SEC in October, saying it wanted to exclude the proposal because “the company’s policy is not to use clauses like this.”
In a letter on Monday, the SEC denied Apple’s request, saying the company “did not adequately implement the proposal.”
An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the SEC letter. The company has previously stated that it does not discuss specific employee matters and is “deeply committed to creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace.”
Read also | Apple seeks dismissal of India’s apps market antitrust case, citing small market share
After seeing Apple’s response to the SEC on the shareholder offer, former Apple employee Cher Scarlett said she filed an SEC whistleblower complaint in October alleging that the company had made false and misleading statements to the regulator. She said she later shared the documents with Nia Impact Capital.
Large companies such as Apple routinely ask for permission to drop shareholder offers, requests that the SEC traditionally grants about half the time.
,