Following a similar incident at Google yesterday, Facebook
has also stopped to force employees to settle sexual harassment claims in
private arbitration. According to The Wall Street Journal, Facebook reportedly made
the announcement to employees internally today, and vice president of people
Lori Goler told the Journal that it wants to “be part of taking the next step”
at “a pivotal moment” in the tech industry.
Facebook also announced an updated policy on dating within
the staffs, requiring executives to disclose any romantic relationship with
another staff, even if they aren’t overseeing that staff’s work.
Few top tech companies including Uber, Microsoft, and Lyft
have dropped forced arbitration clauses from sexual harassment claims. However,
Google’s change was particularly exposed because it was made after an estimated
20 percent of employees participated in a mass walkout protest last week.
Arbitration was actually one of the protester’s demands, and their negotiations
with Google still in process.
According to Lori Goler’s statement with the Journals, she said
sexual harassment has been discussed widely within Facebook, but she apparently
didn’t discuss any more sweeping changes to company. Facebook published its complete
internal harassment policy late 2017, during the first months of the MeToo
movement against sexual assault and harassment. But Facebook defended its
forced arbitration policy earlier this year, calling the process ‘’official and
appropriate.”
Anthony Harrison, corporate media relations director
confirmed in a statement that Facebook was making arbitration optional. “We are
publishing our updated Workplace Relationships policy today and amending our
arbitration agreements to make arbitration a choice rather than a requirement
in sexual harassment claims,” he told The Verge. “Sexual harassment is
something that we take very seriously, and there is no place for it at Facebook.”
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