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Google Businesses United States

Google Pledges To Overhaul Its Sexual Harassment Policy After Global Protests (theguardian.com) 295

In an email to staff on Thursday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company would overhaul its sexual harassment policies, "meeting some of the demands of employees who organized historic walkouts across the globe," the Guardian reports. "Pichai said Google would end forced arbitration of sexual miconduct claims, revamp its investigations process, share data on harassment claims and outcomes, and provide new support systems for people who come forward. From the report: Some critics, however, said the commitments were inadequate, failed to address pay disparities, and ignored demands to improve the rights of temporary employees and contractors. Pichai said Google would now make arbitration "optional for individual sexual harassment and sexual assault claims," but noted that employees could still choose to keep their claims confidential. [...] Pichai also said Google would disclose trends about investigations and disciplinary actions and would create "one dedicated site" that included "live support" for people with complaints. Google would now also offer "extra care and resources" to employees, including counseling and "career support" and a "support person," the CEO added.
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Google Pledges To Overhaul Its Sexual Harassment Policy After Global Protests

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  • by Gerald Butler ( 3528265 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @07:54PM (#57615192)

    If someone commits a crime against you, call the police and charge them with a crime; otherwise, shut the fuck up.

    • by aardvarkjoe ( 156801 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @08:43PM (#57615348)

      Because "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't satisfy the mob.

      • by rtb61 ( 674572 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @10:10PM (#57615584) Homepage

        Google deserves every little bit of it. They wanted to play the deep state and shadow government, divide and conquer, SJW bullshit activist and mass censor game and it is turning right around and biting them on the ass, hard, funny and fuck. As you sew, so shall you reap and they are being reaped hard, right up the economic ass and it is going to get worse, the SJW freaks at Google are empowered now. We all shall mock and laugh and don't the shit heads at Alphabet deserve it, corrupt propagandistic shadow government asshats.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        Or maybe because HR or your boss quietly asking that you please stop doing X is better for everyone involved than launching an immediate forensic investigation and hauling you into court to defend against a criminal conviction.

        And in any case, it's often not a crime, it's a civil employment issue.

        • In what state or country is sexual harassment not a crime? D.C. maybe, at least now, but else?

          • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            Making lewd sexual comments about someone is generally not a crime in most places I think... I'm not an expert on US law but isn't that something you cite on a hostile work environment lawsuit, not something you take to the police?

            And note that even to get to the lawsuit stage it would have to be a pattern of behaviour, not just a one off or something that stopped when raised with HR/your boss. The barrier is actually quite high.

          • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

            by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday November 09, 2018 @07:58AM (#57616580)
            Comment removed based on user account deletion
          • by jeff4747 ( 256583 ) on Friday November 09, 2018 @10:58AM (#57617388)

            In what state or country is sexual harassment not a crime?

            All of them. Sexual Harassment (in the workplace) is a civil offense, not a crime. You can't go to jail for it.

            The reason a company has to get involved is they don't want the civil liability caused by doing nothing about it.

            • I forgot, the US makes a huge fuss about how something illegal is classified. Let me rephrase this: In what state is sexual harassment something you don't get into trouble with the law for?

              At the end of the day, you're in deep shit and very likely out of a job. Whether you go to jail for it doesn't exactly matter that much.

              • In what state is sexual harassment something you don't get into trouble with the law for?

                All of them. All that fuss is actually kinda important.

                Precisely zero people in the government will care if someone is sexually harassed at a private business. Instead, "justice" requires paying for a pseduo-prosecution yourself.

                At the end of the day, you're in deep shit and very likely out of a job

                It's not nearly that guaranteed. It's heavily covered up, especially if you're not at the bottom of the org chart.

                And suing your employer over anything, even if the employer is 100% in the wrong, will likely make it very difficult for you to find a job for the rest of your life.

          • It's not a crime anywhere in the US.

        • And in any case, it's often not a crime, it's a civil employment issue.

          It also very often IS a crime [wikipedia.org] in many circumstances. For example the moment anyone is denied benefits, promotions, punitively fired, given an adverse decision, interfere with their work, intimidate, etc, then it can very easily become a crime. And even in cases where it is not a crime it is certainly not decent behavior.

      • Because "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't satisfy the mob.

        Innocent until proven guilty ONLY applies to criminal court cases brought by the government. It has NOTHING to do with internal HR actions of a private company unless it deals directly with actions regarding a protected class of individuals. Even then "innocent until proven guilty" doesn't apply unless the parties involved are standing in a courtroom. With some restrictions a company has wide discretion in how it treats the people working for it and they absolutely can treat you as guilty until proven in

        • Which was kind of the point. If sexual harassment is handled in court, then the presumption of innocence applies. The prevailing sentiment -- at least of those who make the most noise -- is that those accused of sexual harassment should be punished without that standard of proof. And that's why those people push to have punishments meted out by employers rather than the government.

    • by Anonymous Coward
      Because trial lawyers and sensitivity trainers need to eat too, and there's a lot of money to be made in the grievance industry (look at how much money Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition shook down from companies in the 80's).
    • by Dutch Gun ( 899105 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @09:20PM (#57615440)

      You know, lots of things can occur outside the bounds of decent and proper behavior at a workplace which don't happen to be a crime.

      • by Gerald Butler ( 3528265 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @09:36PM (#57615472)

        Yes. Then why are they trying to make it a "crime" in the workplace. Either it's a crime or it isn't. I'm offended every damn day by the shit-hole this country is becoming at the hands of professional victimization industry. Fuck all of you. It's time to take back the agenda. No FUCK YOU! Your feelings don't mean shit to me! Do your fucking job and let me do my job and shut the fuck up.

        It's time for people to stand up and say enough is enough. We're stopping you. You shall not go no further. Fuck your goddamn victimhood. Stop being such a fucking piece of shit always demanding everyone else suffer for your inability to assert yourself and stand up for yourself. You are thieves who only seek to steal power that you haven't earned. Fuck you!

      • by ShanghaiBill ( 739463 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @09:37PM (#57615476)

        You know, lots of things can occur outside the bounds of decent and proper behavior at a workplace which don't happen to be a crime.

        The incident being protested occurred in a hotel room, and it happened between two people that were in a pre-existing consensual relationship. They both worked for Google, but they were not at work, and I am not sure why Google felt any obligation to get involved. I'll bet they are now wishing they hadn't.

        • and I am not sure why Google felt any obligation to get involved

          There has never been a workplace relationship between people who share a reporting line in history consensual or otherwise which hasn't also had an affect on the workplace itself.

          It is in the best interest of companies to stay involved in private issues that can have an affect on them, for better or worse.

        • Even more than that as I understand it the problem these workers have is that the guy left with a golden parachute. At that level managers take the job via contract and the contract usually includes a buyout so that if they don't work out they still get something for the time they've invested and what they've lost because they didn't take another job.

          Now as I understand it the contract usually include outs for the company if the manager is found guilty of a crime. What they don't include is cutouts for HR a

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Friday November 09, 2018 @07:58AM (#57616584) Homepage Journal

          Google had to get involved because a relationship between a superior and their subordinate is always a problem. At the very least the superior should excuse themselves and move to a position where they are no influence over the subordinate, and that didn't happen.

          Otherwise it presents two problems. Firstly other employees may feel that the subordinate is getting unfair treatment. Even if a promotion is deserved, there will be suspicion that it was influenced by the relationship. Secondly if the relationship breaks down it could create an extremely awkward situation, and makes it hard for the company to avoid accusations of a hostile environment if the superior later needs to give a bad review or discipline the subordinate.

          For that reason many companies have an explicit policy on this, requiring people to declare relationships with subordinates and be moved to resolve the issue. In the case of C level execs moving is often impossible so if they want to pursue it they have to resign.

        • by rsilvergun ( 571051 ) on Friday November 09, 2018 @09:56AM (#57617110)
          they protesting the forced arbitration.

          If I may go off on a tangent here (feel free to stop readying if you're not into a libtard libtarding out) I've been complaining about our right wing media narratives for years. Workers are understandably angry that a sexual harassment claim is forced into binding arbitration instead of being litigated as it should. Workers have lost a valuable right. This is barely discussed in most media outlets (CNN, to their credit, did) in favor of a focus on the part most likely to rile up the anti-SJW crowd. This is what I mean about the right wing media bias.

          Another amazing example. Fiat-Chrysler just got caught bribing Union leaders to weaken worker benefits and pay. The news stories all ran it as a Union Corruption scandal and did everything they could to gloss over the fact that Fiat-Chrysler was the one paying the bribes. The message is loud and clear: Unions are bad because they are corrupt. Again, right wing narrative at play.

          The media is a bit left on a few social issues. A bit. They (like Hilary Clinton I might add) opposed Gay marriage until changing times forced their hand. I'm sick of it. It's like living in bizzaro world where everyone around me clamors on about the left wing media meanwhile I watch stories like the above unfold over and over again...
    • Why is this something for companies to solve?

      Because companies want productive employees. Such employees can easily find jobs. If the working environment is unpleasant then those workers will leave and it wil hurt the bottom line of the company.

      If someone commits a crime against you, call the police and charge them with a crime

      Firstly, there are many sorts of behaviour that are not literally illegal that said productive employees won't put up with. The bar for actually illegal is pretty high, as it should b

      • by Opportunist ( 166417 ) on Friday November 09, 2018 @07:00AM (#57616448)

        Works just the other way around, too. Do I want to work in an environment where I have to wonder and worry what I can or cannot say, no matter how innocent, because some self proclaimed Cardinal Richelieu made it his or her mission to collect 6 lines from everyone to hang them for?

        • The witch hunts will continue until morale improves!

        • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          That's not the "other way", that's the same way. Lack of clear statements on what is acceptable and lack of clear procedures for resolving disputes cause both these issues.

          • by Cederic ( 9623 )

            Oh please. "Nice dress" is a compliment or sexual harassment, depending who says it, whether the person wearing the dress likes them and whether a biased witness wants to fuck over the person saying it.

            When HR's guidance is "it's offensive if someone is offended" then workplace interactions become a fucking minefield.

            This isn't constructive, productive or pleasant but is the direction modern workplaces are going. I already avoid saying anything nice to women in the office because I don't know which one is g

          • I'd be really interested in hearing a legal definition here that's unambiguous, because that's what you'd need here.

            What is acceptable social interaction and what's sexual harassment? Is "that new dress looks great on you" one or the other? And don't say "depends", a legal definition does not "depend". And that's what you're aiming for here since you want to give people legal troubles if they break the rules.

    • by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      A hostile work environment is not a crime, it's a civil employment matter. The police will tell you to get a lawyer and sue.

      The crimes are just the worst examples.

    • If someone commits a crime against you

      Because being an arsehole isn't a crime while at the same time making work environments hostile and stressful. You have this completely backwards. The question is not "why is this something for companies to solve" but rather "why are a few companies not working on this given that it affects employee productivity and happiness?"

    • If someone commits a crime against you, call the police and charge them with a crime; otherwise, shut the fuck up.

      If you wait for the police to get involved before you address a problem, you have already failed. You are the fuck up.

    • something for the company to solve? Because companies are required to take steps to have a safe work environment. Workers forced them too in the 1900s because until they were forced to companies didn't bother. Workers were replaceable when something went wrong.

      Also it's good for the work environment. Women are essential to modern business. Like it or not more of them are graduating college right now. The reason is girls calm down sooner in their early childhood and can focus on school, meanwhile boys ar
    • > If someone commits a crime against you, call the police and charge them with a crime; otherwise, shut the fuck up.

      This is what happens when you put the snowflakes in charge, they eventually turn on their own. “Damore Suit [pjmedia.com]: Google Caters to Furries, Transgenderism, and 'A Yellow-Scaled Wingless Dragonkin'”
  • by sinij ( 911942 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @08:27PM (#57615304)
    Let this be a lesson to any organization that tries to embrace identity politics. SJW eat their own and if you are with them, you are just as likely to be the next meal.
    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Welcome to America's Cultural Revolution [wikipedia.org] where ideological purity is a moving target. The American Inquisition [wikipedia.org] would work well here as well.
    • by DNS-and-BIND ( 461968 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @11:48PM (#57615878) Homepage
      For any who doubt the truth of this, go read this amazing true story of an SJW on Quillette. Entitled "I Was the Mob Until the Mob Came for Me". [quillette.com] It's an amazing insight on what it's like to be an SJW and why their culture is thriving at Google right now.

      In my previous life, I was a self-righteous social justice crusader. I would use my mid-sized Twitter and Facebook platforms to signal my wokeness on topics such as LGBT rights, rape culture, and racial injustice. Many of the opinions I held then are still opinions that I hold today. But I now realize that my social-media hyperactivity was, in reality, doing more harm than good.

      Within the world created by the various apps I used, I got plenty of shares and retweets. But this masked how ineffective I had become outside, in the real world. The only causes I was actually contributing to were the causes of mobbing and public shaming. Real change does not stem from these tactics. They only cause division, alienation, and bitterness.

      How did I become that person? It happened because it was exhilarating. Every time I would call someone racist or sexist, I would get a rush. That rush would then be reaffirmed and sustained by the stars, hearts, and thumbs-up that constitute the nickels and dimes of social media validation. The people giving me these stars, hearts, and thumbs-up were engaging in their own cynical game: A fear of being targeted by the mob induces us to signal publicly that we are part of it.

      Then one day, suddenly, I was accused of some of the very transgressions Iâ(TM)d called out in others. I was guilty, of course: Thereâ(TM)s no such thing as due process in this world. And once judgment has been rendered against you, the mob starts combing through your past, looking for similar transgressions that might have been missed at the time. I was now told that Iâ(TM)d been creating a toxic environment for years at my workplace; that Iâ(TM)d been making the space around me unsafe through microaggressions and macroaggressions alike.

      I mobbed and shamed people for incidents that became front page news. But when they were vindicated or exonerated by some real-world investigation, it was treated as a footnote by my online community. If someone survives a social justice callout, it simply means that the mob has moved on to someone new. No one ever apologizes for a false accusation, and everyone has a selective memory regarding what theyâ(TM)ve done.

      See also Jamie Kilstein talking the SJW mob turning on him on the Joe Rogan Experience. [youtube.com] Kilstein had the same thing happen to him. Only, he wasn't just an SJW, but he was an SJW leader. He targeted dissenters for harassment and the mob followed his lead. He did real harm to people. But...eventually his own mob turned on him. Let's listen to his own words when he actually meets his former enemies for the first time in his life: [quillette.com]

      I met Knowles while I was getting makeup done. He was warm and hilarious. In my former life, I'd never have pictured a Republican laughing at anything except the plight of the poor. Then his producer came in. His Latino female producer. I made direct eye contact in case she wanted to blink out some S.O.S kidnap code. But nothing. Just another goddamn nice, and funny, conservative.

      At one point, someone brought in a gift from a fan to present to Knowles. Was it a hat emblazoned with the words "Grab 'em by the pussy?" The gun used in the Parkland massacre? Nope. It was a tasteful painting of him and his wife on their wedding day. Then the producer walked out from behind a curtain, where she'd been pumping milk for their newborn baby. Turns out the party of family values occasionally attracts people who actually embrace family valu

  • It won't work (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DNS-and-BIND ( 461968 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @08:46PM (#57615358) Homepage

    Google is trying to appease the SJW mob. This never works. It just energizes them and makes them sure to make even more extreme demands of the future. We've seen this again and again.

    You know what we've seen works? Ignoring them. They get sullen and bitter and move on to the next cause. Nothing worse than throwing a protest and nobody cares. The opposite of SJW hate is not love. The opposite is indifference.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      This. Never give in to SJWs, they just demand more and more.
      After all, if they admitted that they had achieved their goals they would have to stop being SJWs, and they wouldn't get to act superior to everyone, which is what they really want.

    • Appeasement never worked. Ask Neville Chamberlain.

    • Google is trying to appease the SJW mob.

      Looks more like Google is simply late to the party of creating a code of conduct that prohibits workplace relationships with conflicts of interest. This is standard shit at every other large company.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • they workers were angry about the forced arbitration. That's a legitimate complaint. It's also being downplayed in most stories in favor of the SJW angle. Now that you know that you should be asking yourself why.
  • by Solandri ( 704621 ) on Thursday November 08, 2018 @10:22PM (#57615648)
    If any line employment had done the same things, they would've been fired immediately sent packing, with a note added to their HR record to deny them severance and unemployment. But a high-level executive does it, and the company tries to cover it up, and when they can't anymore the person is let go with a $90 million golden parachute.

    The problem isn't the policies. It's the uneven application of the policies. It's not limited to sexual harassment either. High-level execs regularly seem to be let go with a golden parachute following a myriad of things (fraud, embezzlement, etc) that would sink the career of a regular employee.* Revamping the policies won't make the slightest difference if they're still not applied evenly.

    * This makes me suspect we need a law saying being let go for unethical behavior automatically nullifies any severance terms you've negotiated in your employment contract.
    • But a high-level executive is alleged to have done it, and the company tries to cover it up, and when they can't anymore the person is let go with a $90 million golden parachute.

      FTFY.

      This makes me suspect we need a law saying being let go for unethical behavior automatically nullifies any severance terms you've negotiated in your employment contract.

      Brilliant idea. I can't see any way that could be abused.

    • > This makes me suspect we need a law...

      Exactly, we need a nanny state to control our thoughts and actions. What could go wrong?

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Never be alone with or have a one-on-one conversation with any woman who is not your wife. Don't even look at them, lest you be accused of "eye rape". Be the most boring man in the world and they'll leave you alone. Do all your socializing and flirting with women who don't even know what industry you work in. (No big loss -- an a Slashdot reader, your job title is probably something women would dismiss as "loser nerd")

    If you're a key person, e.g. the guy who codes the search algos or the guy who invented An

  • It struck me as very odd to see how supportive the CEO of Google was of this walkout.... most of the left/right world just sees it as caving in to snowflake pressure, or the workers bringing about positive change through collective action.... but I have a different theory.

    Normally, the hands of management are bound by lots of rules, shareholder pressure, the SEC, etc... I'm sure the CEO was aware of the issues, but too bound up by the rules and social pressures from above (shareholders, the 0.001%, etc) to effectively deal with it.

    if the workers happen to "organize" a strike demanding something that the CEO would like to do, but can't.... you get the aforementioned weird reaction. Moral dilemma on the part of the CEO is solved, workers are happy that they have some power, and shareholder blame gets deflected safely away from management.

    I expect this to happen more, as it might be a new corporate cultural norm.

  • They (SJW's) just won't be happy until they've remodeled the world à la THX-1138.
    It's sad, sickening and makes me long for my retirement in the country-side and death.
    I long for the days of self awareness, self-reliance and responsibility.
    Humanity, the more you study it the more you realize you were sold a bunch of garbage.
  • Will it still be against the rules to say out loud that men and women aren't exactly the same and may need different things from the workplace in order to thrive?
  • From now on, sexual harrassment will not be reported; however, it will be graded.

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