On Aug. 17, a California state senator announced her intention to introduce legislation aimed at reducing sexual harassment between investors and entrepreneurs. Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson said she would work with the tech industry in hopes of pushing for the bill's passage after the reconvening of the legislature in January.
Revised whistleblower complaint form is online
California workers who are contemplating blowing the whistle on the misdeeds of their employers may be interested to learn of a revised reporting form from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It allows whistleblowers to report their complaints with the correct federal agency. This aids in ensuring that immediate action will be taken in response to the complaints.
Women say they left Google due to racism and sexism
Google has fired a male employee for writing a memo claiming that women are inherently less qualified to be engineers than men. Since that incident, women of color have begun speaking out about other incidents of alleged racial and sexual discrimination at the California-based company.
Male unemployment rates linked to sexual harassment claims
California employees may be interested to learn that, based on an analysis of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Bureau of Labor Statistics data, sexual harassment in the workplace rises when male unemployment rates rise. In fact, sex discrimination claims made to the EEOC have increased by about 10 percent over the last two decades.
The pay gap and African-American women
In California and throughout the country, African-American women in general make less money than both white and black men. Black Women's Equal Pay Day, which this year took place on July 31, tries to increase awareness about this issue. The day is chosen to represent the fact that it takes 19 months for the average pay of black women to catch up to the average pay of white non-Hispanic men. This is a few months longer than it takes white women on average to catch up.
DOJ says no employment protection based on sexual orientation
While the state of California offers protection to employees who face discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, this protection may be eroding for employees nationwide who do not live in states with the same protection. On July 26, the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in a case that a former skydiving instructor brought against his employer alleging he had been fired because of his sexual orientation.
