The agency’s prosecutors are also withdrawing allegations that Apple broke the law by imposing confidentiality rules, firing activist Janneke Parrish, and surveilling workers or making them think they were under surveillance. US law protects employees’ right to take collective action or communicate with one another about working conditions, with or without a union. He replaced her on an acting basis with William Cowen, who has taken a narrower view of employees’ rights under the law. It withdrew allegations that companies including cannabis firm Curaleaf Holdings Inc. had violated labor law by using noncompete agreements restricting staff from going to work for rivals. “It’s saying essentially that employers have the power here.”Photo: Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks before the start of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference at its headquarters in 2023.