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Former Apple Store employee sues for discrimination, claims bizarre ordeal

by Mike Schramm Dec 31st 2010 at 5:00PM

The Apple Store in the SoHo section of New York City has reportedly been sued for discrimination by a former employee, who claims that she was unlawfully fired after taking a medical leave. Nicole Sullivan started working for Apple in 2008, and then took a leave in 2009 because of a nervous disorder. Despite being told that Apple wouldn't learn of her diagnosis, she claims that when she returned to the store, her coworkers clearly knew what had happened. What happened next sounds even more bizarre -- she was given a desk in the store's basement, and when she tried to apply for positions on the store floor, was told that "there were questions about her mental stability." She's now suing the company for back pay, benefits and $300,000 in damages for the alleged discrimination.

Interesting story if true. I haven't worked at an Apple Store, but I have worked in retail, and I saw enough bizarre interactions between employees and managers that I can believe something like this may have happened. Then again, I am not a lawyer, so I won't make any predictions on how this will all turn out in court.

Of course, this is likely all the result of some specific manager's decision, not actual Apple policy. Hopefully the matter will be settled justly and as quickly as possible.



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The Apple Store in the SoHo section of New York City has reportedly been sued for discrimination by a former employee, who claims that she...
 

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David Knuth

I worked for apple for over a year. Poor management, no professionalism, and they ground the people into the dirt. Anyone who had been there for a while were pushed out the door and passed over for any sort of promotions. Favoritism and poor management practices were normal.

January 02 2011 at 11:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
JIM OBASA

People who take mysterious secret medical leave should expect some discussion in the workplace. It is common sense to me. On the other hand, they are way too many employees getting time off claiming stress, tension or depression. All three are psychological conditions.

January 02 2011 at 9:37 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to JIM OBASA's comment
Charli

Yep. And it is not uncommon for the outside companies to approve a return to work with conditions appropriate to the situation. According to the actual suit, she was a full time employee (hired in it seems) who was given a position as a visual coordinator (probably stressful at times) AND a full time college student. I really suspect that everyone knew what was up when she left. And when she came back, the recommendation that she nit be placed in high stress assignments could have come with her. Even if they were not told exactly why.

Also, she apparently kept her hours and pay but her special task of visuals was given to someone else and it was deemed unfair etc to pull off someone who was doing an excellent job (something allowed under FMLA). so she was peeved that she was back to being a mere peon. And she quit soho and moved back to Chicago before she even confirmed she had a job. She may have screwed herself there with a lack fo notice, a pissy attitude when she left etc. Without mention that she 'flipped out' and such. But any recommendations from the mystery outside company could also hav been, by requirement, placed in her file. And maybe she was applying for a potentially high stress job. Maybe she was offered part time because that is all they had but it wasn't good enough for her. Who knows

January 06 2011 at 3:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
melissa

A mental condition isn't like a heart condition, where you need a qualified professional and a $10,000 machine to detect a problem. Her coworkers don't need to be told about her condition to notice she's acting like a spazz, and if she's acting like a spazz on the floor, they're correct in putting her somewhere where her actions won't cause customers to walk out. It's okay to discriminate against someone for their actions.

January 02 2011 at 3:50 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bootsy

I worked in an Apple store as a "Specialist." Apple store employees really don't hear anything you would like to know ahead of time. I was there before the iPad launch - all we knew was that 'something big and special' was coming. I can honestly tell you that if you follow Apple rumor or tech blogs then you know WAY more about upcoming product specs and features than any Apple retail employee has heard in the store through official channels. Leave those poor people alone!

January 02 2011 at 12:04 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ron

It could also just be that she was acting strange on the store floor, which may be why she took leave as well.

Why do people assume so much?

January 01 2011 at 3:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Peter Knapp

Thanks for mentioning that PRW - I was thinking the same thing.

January 01 2011 at 2:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mr Lizard

A woman should be grateful to be employed at all.

January 01 2011 at 2:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ted

Pretty much any manager at an Apple store will look for any reason to get rid of you (least that is my experience and I worked at two of them).

The store manager network is pretty "tight". Word gets around so I am pretty sure that:

A. The store manager found out about her issues
B. The store manager told as many other store managers as he/she could about it.

January 01 2011 at 12:44 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
PRW

Many of these comment confirm the observation that those who have suffered from a mental illness are stigmatized.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-close/mental-illness-the-stigma_b_328591.html

January 01 2011 at 10:00 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DT

Dear managers: If you're not able to act like one simply ask yourself: What would a human being do? And then act accordingly.

January 01 2011 at 9:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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