Dive Brief:
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A local iron workers union has reached out to Apple and California’s attorney general on behalf of two construction workers whom the tech giant fired in January because they had felony convictions.
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Michael Theriault, president of Iron Workers Local Union 377, told The San Francisco Chronicle that Apple’s actions “make no sense” because the workers, fired from the Apple Campus 2 construction site, were not working with the company’s proprietary information. “Our folks put the wire in the reinforcing bar [of the building],” Theriaut told the newspaper.
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Apple so far has not responded to the union or commented to the media about the firings. But documents acquired by The Chronicle stated that crew members with convictions or pending felony charges do “not meet owner standards” to work on the Apple site in Cupertino, CA.
Dive Insight:
It’s not uncommon for convicted felons to be banned from school construction, but it's unusual to exclude them from jobs at other sites, according to Theriaut and advocates for ex-offenders.
The newspaper quoted a Southern California University law professor saying Apple could be setting itself up for a legal challenge if it disqualifies potential employees whose convictions have no connection to the jobs they are applying for.
