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More Than 20 Employees Fired at Uber in Sexual Harassment Investigation (cnbc.com)

More than 20 employees have been fired from Uber as part of an ongoing sexual harassment investigation, according to Bloomberg. From a report: In an explosive blog post earlier this year, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler alleged the company failed to act on sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaints. CEO Travis Kalanick called for an urgent investigation into the claims, led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. That investigation, with Holder at the helm, has given its own recommendations to Uber's board, according to Bloomberg. But Uber's 12,000 employees have been given an assessment of a separate investigation, led by an attorney in at Perkins Coie LLP, according to Bloomberg, who cite an anonymous source. Perkins Coie examined 215 claims, Bloomberg said.

44 of 72 comments (clear)

  1. hope the CEO is one of them by phantomfive · · Score: 2
    --
    "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  2. Re:Uber by MightyMartian · · Score: 1

    And apparently for men with poor impulse control.

    --
    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  3. Rare hatred for a company by Drewdad · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Rarely have I hated a company as much as I hate Uber....

    Ignoring and violating local regulations
    Violating labor laws
    "Greyball" tracking
    Interference in local politics
    Toxic culture

    What did I miss?

    1. Re: Rare hatred for a company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      look in your iPhone under "Location Services" and you will see that the only options Uber has are Always and Never. "While using the App" is notably missing. That was like reason #326 for me to delete their App. (fwiw, Lyft has all 3)

    2. Re:Rare hatred for a company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The brainwashing required to accept all of these things as facts without evidence?

    3. Re:Rare hatred for a company by thaylin · · Score: 1

      There is plenty of evidence of all of them.

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    4. Re:Rare hatred for a company by thaylin · · Score: 1

      hmm rape wasnt even in the list there, projecting much?

      --
      When you cant win, ad hominem.
    5. Re:Rare hatred for a company by SirGarlon · · Score: 1

      What did I miss?

      Alleged racial discrimination against customers, though to be fair, traditional taxi services have the same problem.

      --
      [Sir Garlon] is the marvellest knight that is now living, for he destroyeth many good knights, for he goeth invisible.
    6. Re:Rare hatred for a company by DickBreath · · Score: 1

      > Rarely have I hated a company as much as I hate Uber....

      Uh, SCO ?

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    7. Re:Rare hatred for a company by DickBreath · · Score: 1

      That is not an item to add to the list. That is the underlying reason behind all the other items on the list.

      A circus is best if it has three rings:
      1. Executive
      2. Legislative
      3. Juducial

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
    8. Re:Rare hatred for a company by Aighearach · · Score: 1

      In many cases that is one of the things that taxi companies have to promise in order to hold a "medallion" (license); that they will serve all the neighborhoods that it covers.

  4. Official press release from Kalanick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    We at Uber have all been very disturbed by these allegations that our corporate culture has created an environment in which women feel unsafe and harassed. After a very thorough investigation, and in order to make sure situations like this never happen again, we have taken the step to fire all those involved in reporting this harassment. We want our employees to feel safe knowing we have a zero tolerance policy regarding reports of sexual harassment.

    1. Re:Official press release from Kalanick by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

      sadly underrated, and I'm lacking mod points -- boo =/

    2. Re:Official press release from Kalanick by DickBreath · · Score: 1

      Protip: if you don't want your employees to feel unsafe and harassed, then get them good drugs.

      --

      I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  5. Blame upper management. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Management sets the pace. I'be worked for great management teams that allow room for a bit of fun but aren't afraid to fire shovenist jerks, and I've worked for managers who were shovenist jerks. The team behavior was makibly different on these teams because of the expectation. I'm a guy so I can't speak to how it looked or felt to the women in both situations but I can imagine which one they liked better.

    Fire the leadership and hire respectful professionals.

    1. Re:Blame upper management. by computational+super · · Score: 1

      Maybe she meant they shove people around?

      --
      Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
    2. Re:Blame upper management. by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Can't I be both?

      I sure want to shove my junk up that hot little new girl's beav.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  6. Why do you say 10%? by Daetrin · · Score: 1

    How did you arrive at those numbers? Was it just based on the statements of "more than 20 employees" and "examined 215 claims"?

    If that is the case why are you assuming that the 215 claims were against 215 different employees?

    The article doesn't seem to say, and i certainly don't know it for a fact myself, but i would suspect that many of the people who committed harassment serious enough to get fired probably harassed more than one person, and thus were the focus of more than one claim.

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    This Space Intentionally Left Blank
  7. Re:So about 10% validated by avandesande · · Score: 1

    Lots of people don't want to ruin their career by suing their employer. Maybe you number is inverted?

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
  8. I love Uber (not a troll) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm not trolling, and I'm not disregarding the important issue of sexual harassment (which is horrible) and the behavior of Uber's CEO.

    However, the almost universal disparaging of Uber here (and elsewhere) when they are mentioned -- even in this case, when Uber took some proactive measure to reduce a problem prevalent in many Silicon Valley ventures -- compels me to state the obvious: that Uber has saved thousands of lives (from reducing drunk driving), and has saved countless hours (from transportation inefficiencies in various circumstances).

    There were many times when Uber has been a miracle.

    Again, I hope this comment is not interpreted as apologizing for the several significant flaws within the company. I am glad there is significant pressure on the company to become a more ethical enterprise. However, I hope the public focuses on trying to reform and improve the company, instead of destroying it.

    1. Re:I love Uber (not a troll) by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      The politics are amazing.

      A lot of people hate on Uber here, largely because Uber is a different form of organization due to being a different form of service provider and people can't differentiate. Uber allows you to essentially operate as an independent taxi (if that), supplying the value-add of connecting the customer to the service provider, as well as providing additional insurance while you operate, so long as you follow their ToS; people identify Uber as an employer and a taxi service, rather than an intermediary service provider like Expedia, Hotels.com, or AirBNB. To me, that's almost like accusing the Yellow Pages of being a taxi company because they list independent taxi services (Uber is the next evolution of that, except drivers aren't sanctioned taxis).

      So that whole thing is silly and Uber is fine. Uber provides a great service, provides insurance, adds traceability and accountability, and generally increases the safety and decreases the cost of hailing a ride while giving people the option to easily get in and get out of the whole service business.

      If Uber has workplace problems like sexual harassment, that's a problem. A serious problem. Uber's interaction with its clients on both ends may be great, and it may operate as a valuable business; and if its internals are a counterbalance, its internals need fixing. You don't get to murder people now and then because you're a firefighter and you put yourself in danger every day saving lives; nobody's keeping a running tally.

      At the same time, we have Eric Holder.

      Fuck.

      Is this Eric Holder being Eric Holder, or is this a legitimate investigation with a real cause for concern? Because I could see Uber having serious internal problems, and I could see Holder being a serious political dicktard out to ruin innocent lives for his own political agenda. Both are possible, and, as above, nobody's keeping score; the facts of this case aren't the facts of every previous case.

    2. Re:I love Uber (not a troll) by JohnFen · · Score: 1

      A lot of people hate on Uber here, largely because Uber is a different form of organization due to being a different form of service provider

      If it were that simple, then why isn't there a similar level of hatred toward the likes of Lyft?

      Based on what I've read here, the hatred toward Uber is primarily rooted in the fact that the company behaves terribly.

    3. Re:I love Uber (not a troll) by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Nobody gives a shit about Lyft. How often do you hear about some county trying to sue Lyft for something about taxi laws or whatever? How often do you see anything about Lyft employees being contractor or employees depending on who's making the argument? They're basically the same kind of service, and yet Uber gets all the negative press.

      It's not because Uber did something; it's because nobody gives a shit about Lyft. You call the Uber while Googling for a good mechanic when your car breaks down--even if you use Lyft to call the Uber and Google using Bing. Uber gets criticized for Uber behaving terribly when Uber actually behaves terribly--which has been frequent--and it gets criticized for being what Uber is a hell of a lot, too.

    4. Re:I love Uber (not a troll) by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      Uber may well provide valuable services, but it doesn't excuse what else the company does. If I were to produce numerous masterpieces of art, and only murdered a few people here and there, I'd be in prison for a long time.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
  9. Re:Uber by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

    Who are likely still working there for the moment, having used this as an excuse to purge the undesirables.

  10. Re:Hipster by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    Contacts suck for a lot of people. Always feels like there is something in your eye, always need to be replaced They need to be put in every day and sometimes it goes smoothly and sometimes it doesn't so they can mess up your morning. If you have a astigmatism they are even worse, if they are available for your shape of eyeball at all. For me glasses were a lot easier so I went back.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  11. Re:So about 10% validated by interkin3tic · · Score: 1

    I think it's wildly naive to suspect the people fired weren't mainly "whiners" rather than the source of the problem.

    There may have been one or two dudes fired who did harass. Fired of course for not realizing they weren't high up enough to get away with it like their bosses.

  12. whoa let me get this straight by Hentai007 · · Score: 1

    In a company full of dudebros there was a problem with how they treated women? nooooooooo, do tell!

  13. Still f**king over the drivers by LaughingRadish · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Now maybe they can get to the business of stopping the abuses of the drivers? (playing games with payments, hiding exactly how much they take out of the fare, telling passengers one price and telling the drivers something else, driving fares down for no good reason, etc, etc)

    1. Re:Still f**king over the drivers by cmseagle · · Score: 1

      driving fares down for no good reason

      Isn't the reason pretty clear? Cheaper rides lead to greater marketshare and mindshare which they'll eventually start monetizing with self-driving cars or higher fares (or so goes the business plan).

  14. Re:Or just hyper sensitive. by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

    "Family? Really? So I can quit and I'd be welcome back at anytime?" Using the word 'quit' wasn't a good idea and my "family" let my ass go and I'm not welcome anymore.

    Well, you know, your douchebag brother isn't allowed at family gatherings anymore for being a huge douchebag. Same deal.

  15. Re:Uber by DickBreath · · Score: 1

    Uh, the men with poor impulse control are the ones still working. Fully capable of meeting their harassment quotas. It is the men with good impulse control and politeness who are unable to meet their quotas.

    Will deep learnin' algorithms work even if ya' ain't got much data?

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  16. Re:Hipster by DickBreath · · Score: 1

    Do what I do. Get prescription glasses. Then don't wear them.

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  17. Were any of them in management? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Or was is twenty recently hired worker bees?

  18. Why are people fired as part of an investigation? by tietokone-olmi · · Score: 1

    Shouldn't they wait until results happen, accusers are met, and so forth? Or do they not want to even make up a kangaroo court?

  19. Oh, the Ellen Pao firm. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    attorney in at Perkins Coie LLP

    IIRC, that's the same firm connected to former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  20. Re:Hipster by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    I'm about 70/30 myself. I can drive without them, fortunately.

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  21. DONT HIRE SJWs by sproketboy · · Score: 1

    ntr

  22. this week's witch hunt by Reverend+Green · · Score: 1

    Yee-haw, Uber's having themselves a good old fashioned witch hunt! The big money femini$ts are going to make damn sure the work environment there is VERY hostile for straight men. Remember, next time your commute is delayed by yet another suicide on the Caltrain tracks - thank feminism!

    Whatcha wanna bet that 100% of the witches found & fired, for the horrible crime of acting like healthy human beings, were working class "nice guy" engineersâ and paper pushers? And 0% were gropey douchebag management types who went to the right schools and go to the right cocktail parties in Palo Alto.

  23. Re: Why are people fired as part of an investigati by Reverend+Green · · Score: 1

    Workers have no rights. Accusation is guilt.

  24. Re:Why are people fired as part of an investigatio by Tranzistors · · Score: 1

    Or do they not want to even make up a kangaroo court?

    Since the employees were not hanged, drawn and quartered, just fired, “kangaroo court” is not hardly applicable. From what I have heard, in USA firing doesn't need a reason. If during the investigation they found things that would normally warrant dismissal of employee without “a court”, then why shouldn't they do that in this case?

    However, if the Uber publishes the list of employees they fired exactly because of harassment claims, then those employees could have a case of slander.

  25. It's a start by JohnFen · · Score: 1

    It's a start. Let's hope the firings continue until the entire horrible company goes out of business.

  26. Re:Hipster by JohnFen · · Score: 1

    Many people, like myself, cannot tolerate contacts.

  27. Re:Why are people fired as part of an investigatio by tietokone-olmi · · Score: 1

    So you know the standards of process I'm talking about. Good. I disagree with your disagreement of my use of terminology, and double down on my previous.

    It's my opinion that people shouldn't be fired on the basis of complaint alone, because this amplifies the damage that a serial false accuser would do -- both to the company and the employee. In practice investigations happen to the standard of covering the company's ass in court, from both the accuser's and the accusee's directions. This, while shooting quite low, means at the minimum that "guilt upon accusation" would land the employee in court; and it's well that it should, since there are e.g. ways by which an employee can be given a small bonus in return for having someone fired using such an accusation.

    But, like, maybe all pregnant women are actually serial workplace rapists in the US. I wouldn't know, and couldn't tell.