Pasadena-Based Apple Worker’s Disability Discrimination Suit Dismissed by Judge

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Pasadena-based Apple employee who alleged he was fired in 2023 at age 79 because he requested accommodations for various health issues and took time off to deal with his conditions.

Robert Bailey, 79, worked most of the time from his Pasadena home in a customer support role after being hired in March 2014. According to his Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, he also spent two months assisting staff at Apple’s Pasadena store beginning in November 2021 during the holiday season. His suit alleged disability discrimination, retaliation, failure to accommodate and failure to engage in the interactive process.

Bailey sought at least $500,000 in compensatory damages as well as punitive damages, stating he was told he was fired because he helped a customer recover the person’s Apple ID password, even though other employees performed the same task for their patrons in an identical manner. He maintained he was never trained on any Apple policy prohibiting the action and that he saw many Apple employees do the same while he was working in the Pasadena store.

The suit stated Bailey required and was granted accommodations for health conditions related to prostate cancer and degenerative disk disease, which required more frequent breaks and occasional medical leave visits. He also took an approved medical leave for carpal tunnel syndrome surgery and recovery in both hands from July to October 2023.

When Bailey returned to work, he was told he was under investigation for help he gave a customer to recover that patron’s Apple ID password, according to the suit filed in October 2023. The complaint stated he was denied a request to see the Apple policy he allegedly violated and asserted that “at no point did Bailey compromise the customer’s private information.”

Bailey was fired last November and told he had violated both Apple’s business conduct policy and its Apple Care policies and procedures, the suit stated.

In her ruling, Judge Alison Mackenzie said it is undisputed that during a customer call on June 28, 2023, Bailey initiated an account recovery request on the customer’s behalf. Although Bailey contended he did not violate Apple policy, he did not contest that he typed the patron’s information into the account recovery system, the judge wrote.

Apple therefore met its initial burden of showing it fired Bailey for a legitimate business reason, according to Mackenzie. She further wrote that there was no evidence Apple was using the alleged policy violation as an excuse to fire him. Mackenzie said that even if Bailey’s thinking was reasonable, he did not provide evidence that Apple was looking for an excuse to fire him.

According to the complaint, Bailey believed he lost his job due to his health condition, his requests for accommodations and for taking medical leave. In December 2023, he asked for a reconsideration of his termination and again requested to see the Apple policy he was accused of breaching, but an employee relations representative told him only that the regulation was “well-known at Apple,” the suit stated.