Facebook ends forced arbitration after Google walkout

Facebook
CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Chip
Somodevilla/Getty Images

• Facebook is ending a policy of required arbitration in
  cases of sexual harassment at the company.
• The policy requires employees to give up their right to
  sue.
• This change came a day after Google also ended the
  practice, following demands from employees protesting sexual
  misconduct.
• Forced arbitration has become a sensitive issue and has
  been interpreted as a way for companies to shield themselves
  from sexual misconduct claims being made public.

Facebook is putting an end to required arbitration in cases of
sexual harassment, allowing employees to pursue claims in court.

Facebook announced the policy change in an internal message to
staff on Friday. It also changed its policy on office
relationships — now executives at a director level or higher must
disclose if they are dating somebody at the company. 

The change came
a day after Google changed its policy to end required
arbitration, which was a demand made when 20,000 Google staff
walked away from their desks to protest sexual harassment at the
company.

The Google protest followed
a New York Times report which revealed high-level executives
were credibly accused of sexual misconduct and had been allowed
to leave the company with huge exit packages.

Read more: 
Here’s
the memo Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent to employees on the
changes to Google’s sexual-harassment policy after the
walkout

The organisers behind the Google protest hailed Facebook’s
decision on Twitter:

Required arbitration forces employees to settle disputes
privately, precluding them from taking suits to court. The
process has been criticised as being weighted against employees,
and making it harder for people to band together in class
actions. Facebook’s move means its employees now have a choice
between going to an arbitrator or making their claims public in
court.

Other Silicon Valley companies have got rid of required
arbitration in the past, including
Uber in May and
Microsoft in December 2017.

“There’s no question that we’re at a pivotal moment,” Facebook’s
vice president of people Lori Goler
told the Wall Street Journal.

“This is a time when we can be part of taking the next step,” she
added, and confirmed that while Facebook staff haven’t staged
protests like their counterparts at Google, sexual harassment has
been a growing topic of discussion at the company.

Business Insider contacted Facebook for comment.