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One thing to remember that those so-called "independent" investigators are almost never independent. They are hired by the company, provided with biased informa

One thing to remember that those so-called "independent" investigators are almost never independent. They are hired by the company, provided with biased information, and will definitely serve the company's benefits in the end. This is more like for show. Look, we have hired the former U.S. Attorney General to do the investigation. We are taking it very seriously. That said, let's wait and see the result.

metaphorm 10y ago
I think you're correct in a lot of ways, but I still view this as a major improvement from an internal investigation, or an investigation conducted only by sitting members of the board.
Asparagirl 10y ago
Yup. In the case of GitHub several years ago, the "independent" investigation never even talked to the woman who made the accusations! That's common.
- spangry 10y ago
  Not quite as common as you think. For instance, Github: "Rhoma identified the employees she wanted to talk to based on an initial list we provided, the evidence she gathered, employees who asked to speak with her, people Julie asked her to speak with, and anyone else she determined was relevant, including Julie herself." Sounds like she spoke to 'Julie' (i.e. the woman who made the accusations). As for independence: "When the allegations against GitHub were raised publicly we took them seriously and within days launched an investigation into what happened. We hired Rhoma Young, an independent, third-party investigator that GitHub had never worked with before. Rhoma has a long history of conducting fair and impartial investigations, with 30+ years of HR experience. She has worked with every type of organization, from Fortune 50 companies to local governments, and frequently testifies as an expert witness for both plaintiffs and defendants in depositions, arbitrations, and in litigation involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, disability, and mitigation of damages. Most importantly, Rhoma does not have a history of siding with companies or otherwise being a partisan, industry spokesperson. Half of her litigation witness work is on the side of employees, half for companies. Her job is to investigate situations and figure out what actually happened, even when the people who hired her don’t want to hear it." The full report is available here if you want to read it: https://github.com/blog/1826-follow-up-to-the-investigation-results https://github.com/blog/1826-follow-up-to-the-investigation-...
  - chimeracoder 10y ago
    > Sounds like she spoke to 'Julie' (i.e. the woman who made the accusations) Horvath herself says that she never received an email from Rhoma, and (iirc) Rhoma says that she only reached out a few days before the end of the investigation. Melissa Severini (who made similar claims against the same founder two years earlier) also said that she never heard from Rhoma, which is a glaring omission if you're an investigator looking to identify a potential pattern of behavior.
- vogt 10y ago
  In the case of the NFL and Tom Brady, Exponent served a similar role. And their track record speaks for itself.
- chimeracoder 10y ago
  > Yup. In the case of GitHub several years ago, the "independent" investigation never even talked to the woman who made the accusations! She never talked to Horvath (the woman who made the accusations that prompted the investigation) or Melissa Severini, the other woman who had made similar accusations against the same founder two years before.
moonka 10y ago
I think Huffington is on the board, so between that and having the head of HR and Legal, I don't even know if I'd consider this "independent". I hope I'm wrong.
- nickpsecurity 10y ago
  The complaint specifically says that human resources not only ignored the problems but lied to and sabotaged those doing the reporting. I can't imagine having them on board will be helpful.
  - dllthomas 10y ago
    It's a new head of HR since the events in question (but before the blog post).
    - nickpsecurity 10y ago
      Thanks for that correction. Having a new ond is a good move.
matt4077 10y ago
Michael Garcia at FIFA comes to mind as an example of someone (in a very similar position) doing an excellent job.

metaphorm 10y ago

I think you're correct in a lot of ways, but I still view this as a major improvement from an internal investigation, or an investigation conducted only by sitting members of the board.

Asparagirl 10y ago

Yup. In the case of GitHub several years ago, the "independent" investigation never even talked to the woman who made the accusations! That's common.

spangry 10y ago
Not quite as common as you think. For instance, Github: "Rhoma identified the employees she wanted to talk to based on an initial list we provided, the evidence she gathered, employees who asked to speak with her, people Julie asked her to speak with, and anyone else she determined was relevant, including Julie herself." Sounds like she spoke to 'Julie' (i.e. the woman who made the accusations). As for independence: "When the allegations against GitHub were raised publicly we took them seriously and within days launched an investigation into what happened. We hired Rhoma Young, an independent, third-party investigator that GitHub had never worked with before. Rhoma has a long history of conducting fair and impartial investigations, with 30+ years of HR experience. She has worked with every type of organization, from Fortune 50 companies to local governments, and frequently testifies as an expert witness for both plaintiffs and defendants in depositions, arbitrations, and in litigation involving discrimination, harassment, retaliation, disability, and mitigation of damages. Most importantly, Rhoma does not have a history of siding with companies or otherwise being a partisan, industry spokesperson. Half of her litigation witness work is on the side of employees, half for companies. Her job is to investigate situations and figure out what actually happened, even when the people who hired her don’t want to hear it." The full report is available here if you want to read it: https://github.com/blog/1826-follow-up-to-the-investigation-results https://github.com/blog/1826-follow-up-to-the-investigation-...
- chimeracoder 10y ago
  > Sounds like she spoke to 'Julie' (i.e. the woman who made the accusations) Horvath herself says that she never received an email from Rhoma, and (iirc) Rhoma says that she only reached out a few days before the end of the investigation. Melissa Severini (who made similar claims against the same founder two years earlier) also said that she never heard from Rhoma, which is a glaring omission if you're an investigator looking to identify a potential pattern of behavior.
vogt 10y ago
In the case of the NFL and Tom Brady, Exponent served a similar role. And their track record speaks for itself.
chimeracoder 10y ago
> Yup. In the case of GitHub several years ago, the "independent" investigation never even talked to the woman who made the accusations! She never talked to Horvath (the woman who made the accusations that prompted the investigation) or Melissa Severini, the other woman who had made similar accusations against the same founder two years before.

moonka 10y ago

I think Huffington is on the board, so between that and having the head of HR and Legal, I don't even know if I'd consider this "independent". I hope I'm wrong.

nickpsecurity 10y ago
The complaint specifically says that human resources not only ignored the problems but lied to and sabotaged those doing the reporting. I can't imagine having them on board will be helpful.
- dllthomas 10y ago
  It's a new head of HR since the events in question (but before the blog post).
  - nickpsecurity 10y ago
    Thanks for that correction. Having a new ond is a good move.

matt4077 10y ago

Michael Garcia at FIFA comes to mind as an example of someone (in a very similar position) doing an excellent job.