Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims
- 6 years ago
Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims
Microsoft, one of the world’s biggest software makers, said on Tuesday
that it had eliminated forced arbitration agreements with employees who make sexual harassment claims and was also supporting a proposed federal law that would widely ban such agreements.
“Without the secrecy of mandatory arbitration agreements, serial predators will be less likely to continue climbing the corporate ladder
and employees won’t be forced to stay quiet about the harassment they have faced at work, which is good for employees and good for business,” she said in a statement
“It’s the kind of step that can make a difference.”
He said eliminating the arbitration requirement for harassment claims by its own employees represented
an immediate step the company could take while the Senate bill was being considered.
In one prominent case, an arbitration clause nearly prevented Gretchen Carlson, the former Fox News anchor, from bringing
her lawsuit over sexual harassment against Roger Ailes, the former chairman and chief executive of Fox News.
The moves make Microsoft an early company — and certainly the most prominent — to take such steps to end legal agreements
that have been criticized for helping to perpetuate sexual abuse in the workplace.
In an op-ed article in in October, Ms. Carlson wrote
that “reforming arbitration laws is key to stopping sexual harassment.” According to the Economic Policy Institute, more than half of American workers are bound by arbitration clauses.
Microsoft, one of the world’s biggest software makers, said on Tuesday
that it had eliminated forced arbitration agreements with employees who make sexual harassment claims and was also supporting a proposed federal law that would widely ban such agreements.
“Without the secrecy of mandatory arbitration agreements, serial predators will be less likely to continue climbing the corporate ladder
and employees won’t be forced to stay quiet about the harassment they have faced at work, which is good for employees and good for business,” she said in a statement
“It’s the kind of step that can make a difference.”
He said eliminating the arbitration requirement for harassment claims by its own employees represented
an immediate step the company could take while the Senate bill was being considered.
In one prominent case, an arbitration clause nearly prevented Gretchen Carlson, the former Fox News anchor, from bringing
her lawsuit over sexual harassment against Roger Ailes, the former chairman and chief executive of Fox News.
The moves make Microsoft an early company — and certainly the most prominent — to take such steps to end legal agreements
that have been criticized for helping to perpetuate sexual abuse in the workplace.
In an op-ed article in in October, Ms. Carlson wrote
that “reforming arbitration laws is key to stopping sexual harassment.” According to the Economic Policy Institute, more than half of American workers are bound by arbitration clauses.