A recent survey of tech industry employees found that 41 percent of respondents who reported workplace abuse were retaliated against by management. The survey, which was conducted by a company developing an anonymous app for reporting abuse, showed that Airbnb had the most reports of retaliation. Tech giants Google and Facebook also made the Top 12 list. Workers in California should understand that the results from the survey mirror data gathered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2017.
Due to these surveys and other information coming from whistleblowers and reporters, tech companies are facing more scrutiny than ever to improve their workplace abuse policies. Traditionally, human resource departments have worked to protect the company first, meaning a victim would have to get lucky that their interests coincided with the company’s when making a complaint. In a popular blog post, a former engineer from a ridesharing company claimed that her HR department blamed her for abuse occurring rather than doing anything about the problem.
Companies that want to fix this problem need to adopt more thoughtful and strategic HR departments. As awareness about workplace abuse increases, the top tech talent in the country will avoid working for companies that have a reputation for retaliating against employees. Industry experts believe that organizations aggressively finding solutions will have the biggest success. If businesses don’t address the problem, they risk becoming non-competitive in their marketplaces.
Employees who believe they’ve been subject to retaliation for reporting workplace abuse may benefit from retaining an attorney from an employment law practice. It’s the responsibility of a lawyer to carefully evaluate a client’s case and recommend a course of action. Seeking compensation from a company may involve a settlement or a civil trial in front a judge or jury.
