Trump admin poaches Apple attorney for NLRB; two ‘#AppleToo’ cases halted

Apple CEO Tim Cook laughs with former U.S. President Donald Trump as the news media leave the room after the two men spoke while participating in an American Workforce Policy Advisory Board meeting in the White House State Dining Room in Washington, U.S., March 6, 2019. (photo: Reuters/Leah Millis)
Days after Donald Trump nominated an attorney representing Apple to serve as the top legal official at the US labor watchdog, the agency halted two cases against the company. Last year, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) lodged several complaints against the iPhone manufacturer, accusing it of obstructing employees’ efforts to unionize. However, according to documents reviewed by the Financial Times, the NLRB suddenly halted two of those cases late last week. Trump’s nominee, Crystal Carey — a partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius—was named last week as his pick for the NLRB’s general counsel. She appears in agency records as an attorney defending Apple in both of the stalled cases against the Silicon Valley company.
Michael Acton for Financial Times:
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Carey remains an employee of Morgan Lewis pending confirmation by the US Senate… Carey’s nomination comes as Trump seeks to tighten his control of independent federal agencies… Earlier this year Trump fired Democratic NLRB board member Gwynne Wilcox and the agency’s general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo.
The NLRB oversees US labour disputes, with individuals filing petitions against companies to its regional offices. If the watchdog determines that action should be taken, it brings charges, which are then adjudicated by administrative law judges.
Janneke Parrish and Cher Scarlett were two of leading figures of the 2021 ‘AppleToo’ movement, an employee backlash against the iPhone maker over its handling of wage discrimination and harassment claims. Both women filed complaints with the NLRB after leaving the company, claiming they were sacked because of their labour organising efforts.
Hearings before an administrative law judge had been scheduled for April and June in Parrish and Scarlett’s cases, respectively. But the NLRB late last week informed them the trials had to be postponed indefinitely pending a legal review by the agency’s head office.

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MacDailyNews Take: Properly vetting potential hires is crucial because it helps ensure you bring in people who are skilled, reliable, and a good fit for the team. Always at risk are productivity, morale, and costs, especially when factoring in training and lost output. Checking backgrounds, skills, and references upfront cuts the risk of drama, incompetence, or other issues. It’s like tuning an engine — you don’t cut corners unless you want a breakdown.
As we wrote in January 2023:
Ooh, an NLRB complaint. That and a nickel will get you a nickel. In the future, Apple should refrain from hiring Karens.

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