LOS ANGELES, April 12, 2018 — Carney Shegerian, trial lawyer and founder of the Los Angeles-based employment discrimination firm Shegerian & Associates, recently announced a class action lawsuit against Apple, Inc. alleging that Apple has and continues to violate the California Equal Pay Act and the Fair Employment and Housing Act by paying women Experts less than it pays men for equal or similar work.
In June 2011, Shegerian & Associates client Camille Wade began working for Apple as a specialist at the Apple Store in Los Angeles, California, and was thereafter promoted to the position of “Expert”. From then until January 2017, Wade was a full-time employee, at which point she inquired about moving to a part-time Expert position due to family matters. Her supervisor expressed two part-time Expert openings, and assured Wade that male Experts who switched from full-time to part-time were able to maintain their current pay rate.
In March 2017, Wade was offered a part-time Expert position, however unlike male employees, her hourly rate was decreased by $2.00 per hour from her full-time hourly rate. She accepted the position working at the reduced rate performing the same or similar work to her male Expert counterparts until December 2017.
“The treatment of long time Apple Expert Camille Wade and all of her female counterparts is not only morally wrong but is illegal,” said Carney Shegerian. “Regardless of gender, all employees should be treated fairly and equally.”
“Apple didn’t just violate Camille’s legal rights, but they have violated the rights of potentially hundreds of other female employees. We are urging anyone who feels they were treated similarly to come forward and join the class action suit to bring justice to women who were not paid the same as their male counterparts.”
Shegerian & Associates is urging other Apple employees who were treated similarly to contact our offices to determine if they may be eligible to join the class.