Stephen Nellis, Julia Love

SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rejected Apple Inc’s request to exempt a shareholder proposal. This would have required the company to disclose to investors its non-disclosure agreements and concealment clauses. According to a document viewed and cited by Reuters.

This means Apple must vote on this proposal during its annual shareholder meeting next years, barring any deal with the activist. Apple claims that concealment clauses are not part of its policy. However, at least one ex-employee has challenged this statement and has filed a whistleblower complaint to the securities regulator.

Nia Impact Capital, an investor, filed a shareholder proposition in September calling on Apple’s board of directors to create a “public rapport assessing the possible risks to the company related to its use concealment clauses, which are used in context of harassment and discrimination as well as other unlawful acts.”

Apple in October filed a response with the SEC saying it wanted to exclude the proposal because “the company’s policy is to not use such clauses.”

Apple was denied by the SEC in a Monday correspondence, claiming that it had not “substantially applied the proposal”.

A spokesperson for Apple declined to comment about the SEC letter. Apple previously stated that it doesn’t discuss employee issues and is committed to creating an inclusive and positive workplace.

Cher Scarlett was a former Apple employee and she viewed Apple’s response. She claimed that in October, she filed a SEC whistleblower lawsuit alleging that Apple had made misleading statements to it. According to her, she also shared documents later with Nia Impact Kapital.

Apple and other large companies routinely request permission to forgo shareholder proposals. The SEC typically grants around half of these requests.