CHANGES

Airbnb, eBay to End Mandated Arbitration Policies for Sexual Harassment Cases

Slack, Tesla, and Netflix reportedly have not yet said if they would end the practice.

Airbnb and eBay told BuzzFeed News that they would follow Google and Facebook end mandated arbitration to settle sexual harassment lawsuits. The website asked a slew of tech companies if they would end private arbitration policies for sexual harassment cases, and only eBay and Airbnb definitively said they too would end the practice. “From the beginning, we have sought to build a culture of integrity and respect, and today’s changes are just one more step to drive belonging and integrity in our workplace,” Airbnb said in a statement, confirming the end of its arbitration policy for sexual harassment and discrimination cases. In its own statement, eBay told the website it has “adjusted [its] existing employee policy regarding sexual harassment claims to better reflect and encourage eBay’s values of being open, honest and direct.” Netflix, Tesla, and Slack reportedly declined to comment to the website. Other tech companies—like Pinterest, Reddit, and Apple—said they changed their arbitration policies earlier this year or they never had a mandated arbitration policy. Last week, Google dropped its arbitration mandate after company employees walked out in response to a New York Times report detailing how the company protected high-level employees accused of misconduct. Soon after, Facebook also ended its mandatory arbitration policy.

NEW LEAF

Google Drops Forced Arbitration of Sexual-Harassment Claims