
Microsoft Moves to End Secrecy in Sexual Harassment Claims - rectang
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/19/technology/microsoft-sexual-harassment-arbitration.html
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rectang
Ending forced arbitration was number one on Susan Fowler's list of "Five
Things Tech Companies Can Do Better":

[https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/5/20/five-things-
tech...](https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/5/20/five-things-tech-
companies-can-do-better)

    
    
        1. End Forced Arbitration
    
        This is the single most important thing
        a company can do to prove to its employees
        that it is dedicated to acting ethically,
        legally, responsibly, and transparently.
    

Microsoft's change of policy makes sense when you consider that NDA's are
losing their effectiveness in cases of sexual abuse:

[https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-misconduct-
agreements...](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-misconduct-
agreements/sexual-misconduct-outcry-makes-u-s-lawyers-rethink-confidentiality-
idUSKBN1ED1DM)

    
    
        Some states already have laws restricting
        confidentiality agreements that conceal "public
        hazards," such as product defects or environmental
        contamination.
    
        The same reasoning could potentially be used to
        invalidate non-disclosure agreements covering
        allegations of sexual misconduct, lawyers say,
        on the theory that some harassers could pose danger
        to others if their conduct is not revealed.

