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>Google employees are not shy about speaking up. In the last few years, they have openly confronted the company about building a censored search engine in China

>Google employees are not shy about speaking up. In the last few years, they have openly confronted the company about building a censored search engine in China, the handling of sexual harassment claims and its work with the Pentagon on artificial intelligence technology for weapons. I'd love to see what would happen to a Google employee who tries to argue that sexual harassment laws and policies are stifling normal social interactions, empowering the vicious and overly sensitive to destroy anyone who upsets their particular sensibilities, and creating an overall climate of fear and conformity.

shadowgovt 6y ago
As a non-lawyer, such an employee is probably stepping into relatively dangerous territory committing to discoverable media open speculation that the law under which the company operates is bad. It's not the company that might hold them accountable; it's the government, if the government's looking for evidence that either individual employees break law regarding hostile work environment or there's a pattern that can be established that the company either encourages or turns a blind eye to creation of hostile work environment. That sort of speculation is for a law salon or (anonymously) Reddit, not an internal mailing list.
- anonunivgrad 6y ago
  Criticizing sexual harassment law is not sexual harassment, not even a "hostile work environment" violation. On the other hand, employees criticizing the company for not sufficiently punishing sexual harassment is exactly the kind of evidence you're talking about.
  - shadowgovt 6y ago
    employees criticizing the company for not sufficiently punishing sexual harassment are protected by whistleblower law. Employees trying to build an Orwellian counter-story that punishing sexual harassment as the law requires creates a hostile work environment are treading on thin ice. Very easy to misinterpret that; I wouldn't commit it to discoverable media.
    - anonunivgrad 6y ago
      Sexual harassment law does not prohibit the criticism of sexual harassment law. Any district judge who tried to enforce it that way would almost certainly find himself overturned on appeal. You are simply wrong about that. You are required to follow your legal obligations in America but you are not required to like them or to not complain about them.
      - shadowgovt 6y ago
        It probably depends significantly on the criticism. "sexual harassment law is bad because women don't deserve protection" probably creates a hostile work environment. In general, I'd consider it a thin ice category for discussion inside the company in written format.

shadowgovt 6y ago

As a non-lawyer, such an employee is probably stepping into relatively dangerous territory committing to discoverable media open speculation that the law under which the company operates is bad. It's not the company that might hold them accountable; it's the government, if the government's looking for evidence that either individual employees break law regarding hostile work environment or there's a pattern that can be established that the company either encourages or turns a blind eye to creation of hostile work environment. That sort of speculation is for a law salon or (anonymously) Reddit, not an internal mailing list.

anonunivgrad 6y ago
Criticizing sexual harassment law is not sexual harassment, not even a "hostile work environment" violation. On the other hand, employees criticizing the company for not sufficiently punishing sexual harassment is exactly the kind of evidence you're talking about.
- shadowgovt 6y ago
  employees criticizing the company for not sufficiently punishing sexual harassment are protected by whistleblower law. Employees trying to build an Orwellian counter-story that punishing sexual harassment as the law requires creates a hostile work environment are treading on thin ice. Very easy to misinterpret that; I wouldn't commit it to discoverable media.
  - anonunivgrad 6y ago
    Sexual harassment law does not prohibit the criticism of sexual harassment law. Any district judge who tried to enforce it that way would almost certainly find himself overturned on appeal. You are simply wrong about that. You are required to follow your legal obligations in America but you are not required to like them or to not complain about them.
    - shadowgovt 6y ago
      It probably depends significantly on the criticism. "sexual harassment law is bad because women don't deserve protection" probably creates a hostile work environment. In general, I'd consider it a thin ice category for discussion inside the company in written format.