Over the weekend, a female Uber employee published a blog post that accuses the company of systemic sex discrimination and harassment. Uber quickly reacted, hiring former Attorney General Eric Holder to perform an “urgent investigation” of the allegations. Commentators have been quick to point out that Uber isn’t the only company in Silicon Valley with a sexual harassment problem, and have noted that Uber’s gender diversity figures are abysmal even by Silicon Valley’s low standards.
Discrimination
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Washington state’s highest court
upheld a fine against a florist who refused to provide flowers for a same-sex wedding.
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The EEOC
sued three related Hawaiian tour companies for allowing ongoing sexual harassment of male employees by the companies’ president for more than a decade.
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Inc. recognized Valentine’s Day by rounding up
five stories of workplace sexual harassment.
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A Michigan medical services provider
agreed to pay $21,500 and furnish additional relief to resolve a disability discrimination lawsuit in which the EEOC alleged that the medical services provider fired an employee based on a perceived medical condition.
Technology
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Consultants and tech developers are marketing
“sentiment analysis” software that can be used by employers to assess employee engagement by scanning internal communications.
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According to
Bloomberg Businessweek, sensors are used in many offices to
collect data on everything from temperature and energy use to employee whereabouts and behavior patterns.
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In Other News
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Andrew Puzder
withdrew his nomination for Secretary of Labor, and Alexander Acosta, a Florida law school dean and former assistant attorney general, was
nominated instead.
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Employees across the United States were
fired for missing work as part of the nationwide “Day Without Immigrants” protest last week.
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Health insurance, flexible scheduling, and vacation time are among the
most desirable employee benefits, according to a study covered by
Harvard Business Review.