Former Blizzard, Apple employee claims Epic Games didn’t hire her because of labor rights advocacy

A former Blizzard and Apple employee has accused Epic Games of not hiring her due to her history of labor rights advocacy and support of unionization.

Cher Scarlett filed a labor complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Epic, which she alleges denied her employment based on vocal support of labor organizations, as well as actively engaging with the NLRB, according to The Washington Post.

Epic spokesperson Elka Looks confirmed that Scarlett interviewed for a senior front-end web developer position as one of two candidates, although Looks said the company was aware of Scarlett’s labor advocacy before the interview and that it didn’t impact the hiring process.

“This candidate’s resume and application included a link to their personal website. The website details their organizing activity, and this information did not factor into our decision to proceed with interviews,” Looks said.

Scarlett told The Washington Post that she had been participating in a workers’ rights group at Apple called Apple Together. When Epic asked for a “Request for Activity” form, Scarlett gave information about this group. She received notice that she had not gotten the job two days after filling out the form. Looks said Epic decided to offer the job to “someone else who scored higher in their interviews.”

Epic has not received the complaint from the NLRB, which means it is still being investigated. The NLRB is likely to review the complaint to see if it holds any merit. If the labor organization finds that Epic violated labor rights, the NLRB will file a complaint against the company.

According to The Washington Post, Scarlett filed a complaint with the NLRB on Feb. 9 against Mozilla, the creators of Firefox. Scarlett similarly alleged that Mozilla refused to hire her due to the same labor advocacy. Scarlett also has accused Apple of interfering with her ability to collect wage data, retaliating against workers, and creating a hostile working environment that forced her to leave near the end of 2021.

Scarlett has become popular in recent months due to her labor rights advocacy at Apple and spreading awareness about other labor inequalities on her Twitter account.