Apple gives OK to auditing labor

Apple will conduct an assessment of its U.S. labor practices under an agreement with a coalition of investors.

The assessment will focus on whether Apple is complying with its official human rights policy as it relates to “workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights in the United States,” the company said in a filing last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The audit comes amid complaints by federal regulators and employees that the company has repeatedly violated workers’ labor rights as they have sought to unionize over the past year. Apple has denied the accusations. As part of the agreement, Apple agreed to hire a third-party firm to conduct the assessment, the coalition said.