It's either a cop-out by HR departments, or a false claim that HR departments do this. Knowing the cultures in large Bay Area companies, it's hard to imagine so

It's either a cop-out by HR departments, or a false claim that HR departments do this. Knowing the cultures in large Bay Area companies, it's hard to imagine someone going to HR to complain about discrimination or harrassment, and HR saying: "Go away, you are not in a protected class".