Sexual Harassment Investigation Leads to Firings at Uber

 Posted on June 16, 2017 in Main

Over the last few years, ridesharing industry leader Uber has faced a number of significant legal challenges. The San Francisco-based tech firm has been the focus of numerous lawsuits related to the employment status of its driver/partners, the company’s background check processes, and other concerns that have made headlines across the country. Now, Uber is reeling once again as an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment has cost at least 20 individuals their jobs.

An Incendiary Blog Post

In February of this year, a former software engineer for Uber published a blog post that drew national attention. Her post outlined several examples of what she considered systemic sexism and sexual harassment that permeated the company’s culture. Following the publishing of the post, dozens of reports were made by female Uber employees about their own experiences at the company. All told, 215 reports of sexual harassment were filed, and large-scale boycotts started to take root nationwide—many of them highlighted by the social media tag #deleteUber.

Uber Takes Action

In response to the allegations, Uber brought in former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and a number of other attorneys to examine the company’s culture and the claims made in the blog post. The first round of findings was presented to company board members earlier this month. As a result, more than 20 employees were fired including multiple senior level employees, news reports have indicated.

Uber has also agreed to adopt all ten of the recommendations made by Holder and his team to change the prevailing culture of the company. The recommendations include rearranging the responsibilities of top executives, financial incentives to keep managers accountable, and more equal company perks for men and women within Uber.

Identifying Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

The former employee who first acknowledged the problem wrote that her issues began with inappropriate messages from her manager hinting at a desired sexual relationship with her. Things got worse, she said, when she reported the messages to human resources. She said she was told that she could transfer to a new department or she could expect a negative performance review from the manager in question. When she pointed out that such a review would be considered retaliation, she was reportedly told that it would not be retaliation because she was given the option to transfer.

If you have experienced any type of sex-related discrimination or sexual harassment in your workplace and your human resources department is refusing or unable to help, contact an experienced sexual harassment lawyer. At MKFM Law, we are committed to helping sexual harassment victims get the justice they deserve and to holding offending parties fully responsible for their actions. Call 630-665-7300 today to discuss your case with a member of our team.

Sources:

http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/06/technology/business/uber-fires-sexual-harassment/index.html

https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber

https://techcrunch.com/2017/06/13/uber-drops-sexual-harassment-probe-recommendations/