Cher Scarlett facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Cher Scarlett
Scarlett in 2021
Born	(1985-04-06) April 6, 1985 (age 40) Walla Walla, Washington, U.S.
Occupation	Software engineer
Employer	ControlZee
Known for	Workers' rights advocacy
Notable work	#AppleToo movement Apple Together

Cher Scarlett (born April 6, 1985) is an American software engineer, workers' rights activist, and writer. She is well-known for starting the #AppleToo movement. She has helped organize employees at major companies like Apple, Activision Blizzard, and Starbucks.

Scarlett faced personal challenges in her early life. She taught herself web development skills as a teenager. This helped her build a successful career in software engineering. Her experiences in a field mostly dominated by men led her to become a strong supporter of workers' rights. She often speaks out about issues in technology companies.

She was a key leader of the #AppleToo movement. This group collected and shared stories of unfair treatment from Apple employees. She also helped start Apple Together, a group that supports workers. Scarlett filed complaints against Apple with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. After months of working for change, Scarlett left Apple. She stated she faced harassment and unfair actions. In October 2024, the NLRB said Apple illegally forced Scarlett to quit. In January 2025, Mozilla Corporation settled charges from the NLRB. This was because they refused to hire Scarlett due to her activism at Apple.

Scarlett has also helped pass new labor laws in Washington state. She supported ideas for Apple shareholders to vote on. These ideas were about civil rights and rules that stop people from talking about problems. These were the first such ideas approved by Apple shareholders in over 10 years. The review of these rules led to big changes in Apple's employee contracts.

Early Life and Learning

Scarlett was born in Walla Walla, Washington. She grew up in Kirkland with her mother. Her family came from Eastern Washington and had a history of working on farms.

She went to Juanita High School in the early 2000s. She was very good at science and video games. She wanted to be a scientist and even go to space. She learned to code by herself during middle school. She made a website for her gaming group in EverQuest. She also experimented with web development on LiveJournal.

Scarlett faced difficult experiences when she was young. She struggled in high school and left before finishing. She later provided information to authorities that helped with an arrest in 2018. Before her software career, she worked in the service industry. This included working at Krispy Kreme when her daughter was young.

Career and Activism

Early Career (2007–2015)

In 2007, Scarlett worked briefly in web development for a real estate company. She worked as a freelance developer until 2011. Then, she was hired as a web developer at USA Today. Her manager there called her a "talented developer."

Activision Blizzard (2015–2016)

In 2015, Scarlett became a software engineer at Activision Blizzard. She worked on their Battle.net platform. While there, she raised concerns with the human resources department. She pointed out pay differences and sexism she had seen. Her manager told The Washington Post that she was a very dedicated employee.

Scarlett left Blizzard in 2016. In 2021, she shared her experiences with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing. This was part of a lawsuit about unfair treatment and harassment. Scarlett encouraged others to share their stories and supported a walkout. She spoke publicly about what she believed was poor treatment of female employees. She said this included lower pay and inappropriate behavior. She stated that such behavior was common and protected at the company.

She also spoke about how a situation was handled in 2018. This involved an unpaid moderator for Overwatch League. Scarlett wrote a Medium post about her past with this person. The moderator later apologized. Blizzard then changed how it managed community teams. Scarlett said that working at a "dream job" like Blizzard could make employees ignore problems. The company said it valued Scarlett's courage and was working to make the workplace fair and safe.

Starbucks and Webflow (2016–2020)

Scarlett joined World Wide Technology in 2016. In 2017, she became a lead software engineer at Starbucks. She worked remotely from Greater St. Louis, Missouri. At Starbucks, she helped with a successful effort to fix gender-based pay differences. After leaving in 2019 to work at Webflow, she wrote about what she believed was a practice at Starbucks. She said they paid lower wages in areas with more diverse populations. She continued to write, focusing on fairness in tech. She also helped manage a website that promotes a healthy work–life balance in tech.

Apple (2020–2021)

In April 2020, Scarlett started as a principal software engineer on Apple's software security team. She worked remotely from St. Louis and later from the Seattle metropolitan area.

A year later, Scarlett became involved in workplace activism on Apple's Slack. She became a very public voice for workplace issues at Apple. Employees at Apple rarely spoke to the media before this. Scarlett was praised for inspiring others to speak out. However, she also faced criticism for breaking the company's unwritten rules about public speaking. She said hundreds of people asked for help with concerns about pay, discrimination, and remote work rules. Scarlett said Apple's "cult-like" culture of loyalty made employees afraid to speak out. She told The New York Times, "Never have I met people more terrified to speak out against their employer."

Scarlett felt pressured to take medical leave in September 2021. She said harassment from colleagues affected her mental health. She stated that Apple asked her to stop talking about the company publicly. She felt forced to agree. Scarlett described several incidents of harassment. This included online harassment and accusations of sharing private information. She said Apple did not do enough to stop this behavior.

On November 19, 2021, Scarlett quit Apple. She later said she was isolated and treated unfairly after filing complaints against the company.

Antonio García Martínez Controversy

In May 2021, Scarlett expressed concern about Apple hiring Antonio García Martínez. He had written things that were seen as disrespectful towards women. Scarlett helped edit a letter from employees to management. The letter spoke out against the hiring. It said it did not fit with Apple's diversity and inclusion policies. After the letter became public, Scarlett's comments appeared in Bloomberg. She said this led to more online harassment.

Scarlett said Apple's public relations department seemed only interested in stopping bad news. She gave a quote to CNN, saying she trusted Apple's culture. But she also said the hiring was "starkly contradictory" to her feelings. García Martínez was quickly fired. Apple stated that "Behavior that demeans or discriminates against people for who they are has no place [at Apple]."

Remote Work Advocacy

Around June 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple announced that most employees would need to return to the office. Scarlett helped lead employees in asking to continue working remotely. She spoke about how important remote work was for disabled employees, caregivers, and those from less wealthy backgrounds. She encouraged some colleagues to ask for special arrangements under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. She later shared a medical form she was given. This form would give Apple access to medical records. This made Scarlett and other employees uncomfortable.

Apple said that working together in person was "essential" for the company's culture. Scarlett disagreed. She said the idea of people bumping into each other and inventing things was not true. Apple's plans to return to the office were delayed several times due to rising COVID-19 cases.

#AppleToo Movement and Worker Organizing

Scarlett was a leader of the #AppleToo movement. In August 2021, she started a survey about wages at Apple. It received over 3,000 responses. Soon after, a group of employees created a website. On it, Scarlett and Janneke Parrish shared anonymous reports of unfair treatment. These included verbal abuse, discrimination, poor working conditions, and unequal pay. Scarlett said the group received over 600 stories. Parrish was later fired. The group then formally organized as Apple Together, a solidarity union. Scarlett and Parrish helped found it and are now advisors. Organizers said they were not being paid fairly. Scarlett asked The Washington Post, "If the richest company in the world won't pay its workers enough to live, who will?"

Apple has stated that they work to create a welcoming workplace where everyone is respected. Scarlett's complaints and other employee activism led to a shareholder proposal. This proposal asked for a "civil-rights audit" of Apple. The proposal said Apple's public efforts for racial justice were not seen in its own workforce. Scarlett said charts she shared showed "alarming" trends. She claimed that white men had more chances to advance at the company. Apple suggested shareholders vote against the proposal. But on March 4, 2022, shareholders voted in favor of it. This was the first time in 10 years. Apple agreed to follow through with the audit.

Federal Labor Board Charges

On September 1, 2021, Scarlett filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). She claimed Apple had broken the law by stopping employees from discussing their salaries.

Scarlett and Apple reached a settlement in November 2021. This included a payment for Scarlett and her lawyers. It also required Apple to publicly state that employees could freely discuss workplace conditions and pay. Scarlett said Apple did not fully keep its part of the agreement.

In January 2023, the NLRB found that three of Scarlett's complaints had merit. In October 2024, the NLRB charged Apple with illegally watching employees. They also said Apple stopped workers from organizing online and discussing wages. The NLRB also charged Apple with forcing Scarlett to quit. They found that Apple told Scarlett to stop posting on social media about the company. Managers also threatened employees who participated in activism. The NLRB also charged Apple with unfairly firing Parrish. They also said Apple had illegal rules, like making employees sign contracts with illegal non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

Whistleblowing Efforts

Scarlett filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC on October 25, 2021. This was about Apple's statements that it did not use NDAs to hide harassment or discrimination. Scarlett gave the SEC an NDA that Apple had included in a separation agreement. She had refused to sign it. Apple's request to avoid a shareholder vote on this issue was denied by the SEC.

During her talks with Apple, Scarlett asked the company to add specific language to agreements. This language would allow people to discuss unlawful acts in the workplace. Apple refused at first. But later, they said they would add this language to all separation agreements in the United States. Shareholders voted to approve this idea on March 4, 2022. In December 2022, Apple said a review found some rules that could stop people from speaking about unlawful conduct. They agreed to remove these rules from all employment contracts.

Scarlett received one of five payments from a severance package. Then, Apple stopped paying her and her lawyers. They said she had broken her NDA. Scarlett said she had nothing for them to take. In an essay, Scarlett and others described the financial difficulties of speaking out. They urged Washington state to pass laws making such NDAs illegal. Scarlett started a GoFundMe campaign to pay her legal fees.

After leaving Apple, Scarlett accepted a job with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. During her background check, it was found that Apple had incorrectly listed her job title. This caused a delay in her hiring, and the job offer was later taken back. A lawyer said this practice might be illegal. Scarlett filed another complaint with the SEC.

Recent Activities (2021–Present)

Scarlett is on the Tech Worker Committee of The Solidarity Fund. This fund helps Apple and Netflix workers involved in organizing. Scarlett said, "There's a solidarity movement happening." In December 2021, Apple Together promoted the fund. This encouraged workers to strike to support retail store workers in Florida.

In early 2022, Scarlett helped Starbucks baristas in their unionization efforts. She partnered with Workers United (WU). She also connected Apple retail employees with her Starbucks WU contact. On February 22, 2022, Fruit Stand Workers United voted to join WU. In April 2022, these workers publicly announced their effort to form a union.

Scarlett joined game studio ControlZee in March 2022. She works on a game called dot big bang. This platform lets users build multiplayer video games.

Scarlett was one of five experts in a March 2022 Financial Times investigation. They looked into "Russia's Google," Yandex. Scarlett and the team found that Yandex was collecting sensitive information. This included user device and location data in Russia. The Kremlin could legally ask for this data. The researchers said users of over 52,000 apps might not know about this. This included apps for Ukrainians launched during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was because the Russian software was hidden in a software development kit (SDK). Scarlett said users were "trying to be proactive in being more safe, but actually making [themselves] more vulnerable." Opera and other app developers disabled the software. Google agreed to investigate the findings. Apple said no SDKs could collect data without user knowledge.

Labor Charges Against Mozilla

In April 2022, The Washington Post reported that Scarlett believed she was not hired by Mozilla and Epic Games. She thought this was because of her organizing at Apple. She filed complaints with the NLRB against both companies. On November 22, 2023, the NLRB filed a charge against Mozilla. They said Mozilla failed to hire Scarlett. The NLRB asked the company to hire Scarlett or pay her for lost wages. They said Mozilla rejected her to stop employees from engaging in protected activities. On January 14, 2025, Mozilla settled the case with the NLRB. They agreed to pay Scarlett $300,000. They also agreed to post a notice informing employees of their rights.

Facial Recognition Software Criticism

Scarlett has called for careful review and rules for facial recognition software (FRS). In January 2022, Scarlett shared a photo on Twitter. Facebook's FRS thought it was her, but it was actually her great-great-great-grandmother. Scarlett said such activities were dangerous. Andrew Bosworth and Jerome Pesenti from Meta responded. They said their FRS had been turned off and never tagged people in random photos.

A month later, Rachel Metz from CNN spoke with Scarlett about FRS. Metz showed Scarlett PimEyes, an FRS website. It lets users search for photos matching a face. Scarlett found some photos of herself. She also found matches to similar-looking people like Britney Spears. However, some of the photos of her were from a difficult incident in 2005. Even after asking for the images to be removed, Scarlett and Metz found they were still on the service. Scarlett filed complaints in Washington State in January 2023. Even after PimEyes removed over 400 images, her photos still appeared.

A Vice News Tonight investigation found that PimEyes was mainly used for stalking. It warned that it could end privacy. Scarlett's experience with facial recognition software raised questions about privacy and control over one's own face. She called the technology "Star Trek stuff."

Legislation

Protecting Whistleblowers

In 2021, Scarlett worked to change employer secrecy rules in Washington state. She pushed for laws similar to the Silenced No More Act in California. This law stops employers from silencing whistleblowers. Scarlett worked with Senator Karen Keiser and House Representative Liz Berry. Scarlett and Chelsey Glasson, a former Google employee, spoke in support of the bill. It became law on March 3, 2022. It started being effective on June 9, 2022. Because of their work, Ozoma and Scarlett became leaders in making tech companies more accountable.

Google promised to follow Silenced No More protections for all employees after the Washington law passed. Apple added the language to their employment contracts.

Wage Transparency

In 2022, Scarlett supported SB 5761. This law requires employers with 15 or more employees to post salary information on job listings. This includes jobs for current employees. Scarlett had moved while at Apple. Her requests for new pay information were not answered until after she moved. Scarlett spoke in favor of the bill on February 16, 2022. She talked about her own wages being kept low. This was because past employers asked for her salary expectations instead of sharing what the job paid. She said that some groups of people are often not in a good position to negotiate. She added that secrecy around pay leads to wage differences. The bill became law on March 1, 2022. It became effective on January 1, 2023.

Health Data Privacy

In 2023, Scarlett spoke in favor of the My Health, My Data Act. This law was requested by Washington's Attorney General, Bob Ferguson. It stops the collection and sharing of digital health data without permission. It also stops identifying or tracking people around healthcare services. It was the first law of its kind in the nation. Scarlett said the bill was made weaker by an amendment. This amendment allowed businesses to track location data within a certain distance without permission. The bill was signed by the governor in April. It became effective on March 31, 2024.

Personal Life

Scarlett is active on Twitter. She is known for supporting marginalized groups.