EMAIL CHAIN UNCOVERS SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIMS

 

A current Microsoft employee email chain reveals girls sharing episodes of discrimination and sexual harassment, and today the company best human resources executive is acting.

Microsoft senior leadership is exploring all claims.  This is not the first time the tech giant has come under fire for sexual harassment.  In 2018, a class-action lawsuit claimed the 238 discrimination and sexual harassment complaints were managed by the business in a lackluster way.  

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Harassment, while 119 stated they had been victims of sex discrimination.  Three women said they had pregnancy discrimination, and eight girls claimed they had been retaliated against because they whined about their work situations.  The lawsuit also clarified the air at Microsoft as a beaus club.

Inquiry Leads to Mail Chain

The email chain began on March 20, when a female employee who had been stuck at the exact same job for six years asked about how to maneuver in the Microsoft company.   1 woman claimed she was given simple tasks on one project that included booking hotel rooms and taking notes at meetings.  Another woman claimed she was on a business trip with a man working for a partner company who threatened to kill her if she didn't perform sexual acts.  When she reported the incident to Human Resources (HR), she was told the man was just flirting, and there was nothing they could do since he didn't work for Microsoft.

A senior-level female employee who earned the name of Microsoft Partner claimed that she was asked to sit on the lap of another employee in a meeting before colleagues and HR.  When she cried and cited business policy, the man making the request said he did not have to listen to the coverage and repeated his request that she sit on his lap.  Employees commented that they found the thread educational and empowering.

Use of Derogatory Names

Apparently, using derogatory language at Microsoft toward female employees happened often.  Girls on the ribbon claimed the use of derogatory names against them was pervasive at the provider.  A female engineer who had worked at other significant firms said that wasn't something that she had elsewhere, but it was common at Microsoft.

Human Resources Responds

The female head of HR at Microsoft is taking the claims made on the email thread quite seriously.  She and the senior leadership team were sad and appalled that employees were dealing with these issues.  She informed people who suffered these demeaning experiences to contact her directly so that she can investigate the situation personally.

Sexual harassment has happened in the office for so long as men and women have worked together, but the #MeToo movement marks a sharp breaking point.

Strong men have lost their jobs as a result of sexual harassment.    In addition, local and state government

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Initiated a variety of new laws for combatting sexual harassment at work.

New Laws in Place

Since many anti-sexual harassment laws have happened on the state and local level, it is very important that employers and employees are aware of what constitutes sexual harassment.  Businesses are mandated to put anti-sexual harassment policies and coaching programs set up.   For a company, which means such obligations are public, and all employees, including future employees, can understand the circumstances, as well as business partners, shareholders, and clients.  Public disclosure incentivizes companies to make sure no form of sexual harassment is tolerated and criminals are dealt with as quickly as possible.  When confidentiality arrangements are set up, sexual harassers will continue to act inappropriately and not suffer consequences.

Promoting General Civility

Treating other people as you want to be treated is a historical idea.  Too many companies focus on the legal accountability surrounding sexual harassment and fail to promote an atmosphere of general civility in their workplaces.  A holistic approach to sexual harassment involves training policies and programs.  Just when employees respect each other and proactively work to prevent sexual harassment at work will this kind of behavior become something of the past.

Speech All Harassment

While sexual harassment receives the most attention, employers anti-harassment policies and training must also include other forms of harassment.  This includes age, race, disability, ethnicity, and religion.  Employer policies and training should make it clear that no kind of harassment is acceptable at work, and reporting procedures must prove straightforward.

In case you experienced sexual harassment or discrimination at work, an expert sexual harassment lawyer can assist.

DEMOTED AT FUNCTION ONCE REPORTING HARASSMENT - CAN I HAVE A CASE?

 

Any consequences for reporting legal issues in the office are illegal due to laws which protect against retaliation for those activities together with the employer and particular workers.  The demotion or termination due to retaliation is illegal and may result in a legal claim against the company for compensation or even a lawful treatment.

 

What Is Workplace Retaliation?

When someone becomes a whistleblower about something which is illegal at work, he or she can speak to the appropriate authorities and be sure that the activity ceases.  This activity can elicit a response from law enforcement who penalizes the company or criminalizes the action to arrest a person.  If the manager of this whistleblower demotes the person right for this contacting of the relevant authorities, this really is office retaliation.  This response is illegal as someone that engages in these activities has protections by state and federal laws against retaliation. 

 

Protection from Retaliation

While sexual harassment may result in a legal response in some manner, retaliation also includes a legal response.  The person in the company has security against retaliation by law.  The employer or anybody else in the company has no right to punish the person for engaging in whistleblowing.  Ensuring that harassment or discrimination does not continue is the best of any employee.  If this person assisted with a workplace evaluation, he or she'll have protections by law against termination, demotion or even a loss of benefits among additional safeguards. 

Defining the Incident

When a manager or boss demotes or terminates a person, it is crucial to define this as illegal or invalid.  The company can do this without any motive or with the ideal reasons based on particular actions taken at work.  The problem is connecting the demotion or termination of employment to the record of harassment.  When it is subtle, this may require an investigation and possible contact with the Human Resources department to submit a complaint and report the matter.  The more clearly linked the incident is to the record of harassment or another report that gets the company in legal trouble, the more of a case that the employee has

The Adverse Action

If someone could suffer retaliation for reporting an event, afterward facing demotion or termination within an actionable offense, he or she can face real retaliation that is illegal.  The actions of the company are to discourage making reports to the authorities about what happens within the small business.   When these policies or procedures are set up, the company is engaging in illegal activities that may also lead to actions from outside sources

 

Seeking Legal Action

When an employer acts illegally by demoting or terminating the employee through retaliation, it is crucial to get in touch with the EEOC and a Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer before doing something else.  The lawyer may explain that numerous procedures will proceed with reviewing the matter.  The EEOC may need to look into the very first report of harassment and then pass on the situation of termination of demotion to the lawyer with all applicable information to go for a case of retaliation.  The proof is essential to holding the employer liable for this particular activity.  To return to work or seek compensation for the damage caused, the former employee may need the link to the two cases

 It does not make any difference if he or she contacted the EEOC or an internal division to deal with the circumstance.  Provided that the report was created in good faith, the company does not have any lawful right to retaliate against this person.  When the person participates with this investigation, he or she's free of actions from a supervisor or manager.  Including demotion or termination.  A legal case against the company is possible when the employer does participate in this activity no matter how harmful

 

Legal Support against Retaliation

When harmed after creating a record for harassment while in the office, the employee will need to seek advice from a lawyer first.  The legal practitioner will explain the procedure and how best to resolve the problem between him or her and the employer which could progress to the courts.

When most people consider libraries, they envision places where everybody may learn and relax in a serene, quiet, pleasant setting.

However, some staff members from the Free Library of Philadelphia claim their employer is anything but welcoming.  In fact, they allege the Free Library is a place not just of entertainment and educational materials, but of bias and discrimination.

 

These claims against the public library came to the forefront in overdue 2018, when the library hosted

 

Public survey of its workers.  The survey was prompted because of tales of bias with an employee diversity training session late last autumn.  Rather than hearing positive responses, the library received stories of an unpleasant setting, particularly for women, members of the LGBTQ community, and various minority groups.  Very quickly, the survey results were eliminated from public opinion, just to be brought back into the light by the librarian marriage.

Among other allegations, the survey included the following claims:

- Employees were not able to attain promotions since they were not the preferred race or sexual orientation.

- Employees were forced to use individuals who exhibited disdain for employee harassment and bias training.

- Employees were upfront with supervisors and executives concerning the bias they experienced, just to have it ignored.

 

Of the respondents, 86 percent stated they experienced or observed racial bias on the job while 83 percent said they experienced racism, homophobia, transphobia, and Islamophobia, among others.

Presently, the Philadelphia library system is currently in the process of requesting increased funding flows from the local authorities.  Having a reputation for bias, discrimination, and possible harassment makes it increasingly challenging for them to obtain the money to keep their mission.  These allegations should be a warning signal that men and women are no more comfortable staying silent about bias and discrimination, regardless if it is a mega-corporation or a nonprofit entity.