Posts Tagged: discussing

Meta has reportedly barred employees from discussing abortion on internal channels

Meta has told employees not to discuss the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to The New York Times. Pointing to a May 12th memo it shared after a draft of Friday’s decision was leaked by Politico, the company has deleted messages on its internal communication tools that mention the topic. In the document, the social media giant reportedly said it “would not allow open discussion” about abortion within the workplace due to “a heightened risk of creating a hostile work environment.”

One employee took to LinkedIn to voice their frustration with the situation. “On our internal Workplace platform, moderators swiftly remove posts or comments mentioning abortion,” said software engineer Ambroos Vaes. “Limited discussion can only happen in groups of up to 20 employees who follow a set playbook, but not out in the open.” Meta did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment.

On Friday, Meta also told employees it would reimburse the travel expenses of employees in need of access to out-of-state healthcare and reproductive services “to the extent permitted by law.” That’s a policy many tech companies, including Google, had in place before Friday’s decision and that they reiterated after the Supreme Court announced its ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.

Friday’s action wasn’t the first time Meta moved to prevent its employees from dicussing a contentious topic at the workplace. The company updated its Respectful Communication Policy following the murder of George Floyd in 2020. At the time, the company told employees they could no longer discuss political and social issues in company-wide Workplace channels.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

CWA accuses Activision of threatening employees for discussing work conditions

The union working to organize Activision Blizzard workers — the Communications Workers of America — filed a complaint today with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), accusing the video game company of forbidding workers from discussing ongoing sexual and workplace harassment lawsuits. This isn’t the first time Activision has been accused of shutting down workplace dissent. Last September, CWA accused Activision of union-busting and intimidating workers who engaged in walkouts and other protests.

CWA filed its latest complaint after an incident in which an Activision worker posted a link to an article on their departmental Slack channel about an ongoing California Department of Fair Housing and Employment lawsuit against the company. The union shared no details about whether the worker was fired or reprimanded. Engadget has reached out to CWA for more information about the incident and will update when we hear back. Under federal law, employees have the right to discuss matters relating to wages, hours and working conditions.

Former Blizzard test analyst Jessica Gonzalez said Activision used “similar tactics” during her time at the company after she spoke out about workplace sexual harassment. “It is unfortunate that Activision continues to take the low road, but my hope is that everyone in the video game community understands how having a union on the job can encourage a workplace free from harassment and discrimination, which translates to better video games,” said Gonzalez in a statement.

Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics