Pasadena Man, 79, Seeks $500,000+ in Wrongful Termination Suit Against Apple

A 79-year-old local man is suing Apple Inc., alleging he was wrongfully fired in 2023 because he requested accommodations for various health issues and took time off to deal with his conditions.

Robert Bailey’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges disability discrimination, retaliation, failure to accommodate and engage in the interactive process. Bailey, who seeks at least $500,000 in compensatory damages as well as plus punitive damages, says he was told he was being fired for helping a customer recover the person’s Apple ID password, even though other employees performed the same task for their patrons in an identical manner.

An Apple representative did not reply to a request for comment on the suit brought Friday.

Bailey was hired in March 2014 and worked most of the time from his Pasadena home in a customer support role. In November 2021, he was assigned to work at Apple’s Pasadena store for two months to assist the staff during the holiday season, the suit states.

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, the suit states. He took an approved medical leave for that problem from July to October 2023, the suit states.

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, which further states he was denied a request to see the Apple policy he allegedly violated.

“At no point did Bailey compromise the customer’s private information,” the suit states.

Bailey was never trained on any Apple policies prohibiting performing such a task on a customer’s behalf and he saw many  Apple employees do the exact same thing during while he was working in the Pasadena store, the suit states. 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 states.

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

Bailey has experienced lost wages and suffered emotional distress since losing his job, the suit alleges.