A former in-house attorney at Apple, Inc. going by the name of “Jane Doe” to shield her identity has accused Apple of age discrimination, gender discrimination and wrongful termination – all in violation of California labor laws. The complaint was filed June 1st in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Jane Doe alleges that men were offered more flexible work schedules and that supervisors at Apple gave her conflicting directions that forced her into a “no-win” predicament. The case has been assigned to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson. Jane Doe was hired by Apple as global product safety counsel in February of 2014. At the time she lived primarily in Los Angeles and worked out of affiliate offices in accordance with an arrangement her original supervisor approved. Within a few months, Jane Doe got a new boss, senior director of products law, Michael Miramontes, due to reorganization at Apple.

Miramontes (Defendant) allegedly asked Jane Doe (Plaintiff) to move her family to Northern California. After further discussion, he eventually agreed to allow Jane Doe to work from Los Angeles on Fridays. In comparison, plaintiff alleges that there were male attorneys in the same department with deals to work from Sunnyvale for only 2 days of the work week or working out of state one week a month, etc. Jane Doe also received reprimands on the job for not “flying to Korea” to handle a product safety issue. Based on this reprimand, Jane Doe later offered to visit a Chinese manufacturing facility to handle safety issues in connection to a line of Bluetooth speakers by Apple Beats Electronics unit. She was then criticized for offering – creating a “no-win” scenario for Jane Doe. She was fired in January.

Johnson has already denied a request by Apple to have the lawsuit moved to Santa Clara – where they may have been hoping for a more tech-friendly venue. Downtown L.A. has a reputation for being fairly realistic regarding work situations and the inequities that occur, especially when dealing with one of the most powerful companies in the modern world.

If you need to know more about wrongful termination or if you fear that you have been a victim of wrongful termination yourself, please get in touch with us as soon as possible. Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik is the home of southern California’s favorite employment law attorneys. We have the experience and the knowledge to take your case from start to finish.