Uber to Pay $4.4 Million to Resolve EEOC’s Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Charge
By Audrey Roofeh and Emeizmi Mandagi
In August 2017, Uber Technologies Inc. faced investigations by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission following complaints about gender inequity and sexual harassment in the workplace. During this investigation, the EEOC found that Uber permitted a culture of sexual harassment and retaliation against those employees who speak up about it. On December 18, 2019, Uber voluntarily entered an agreement with the EEOC to implement harassment prevention measures and increase accountability within the company’s management. This comes on the heels of Uber releasing its first US Safety Report earlier this month, which addresses questions of safety incidents, including sexual misconduct, that occur on its platform.
As part of this recent settlement, Uber agreed to the following measures:
Establish a fund of $4.4 million to compensate individuals who the EEOC determines experienced sexual harassment or related retaliation after January 1, 2014.
Create a system for identifying employees who have filed more than one harassment complaint, and for identifying managers who fail to address concerns related to sexual harassment.
With the input of a third-party consultant, Uber will update its policies and procedures, and continue conducting climate surveys and exit interviews, specifically taking note of any instances of sexual harassment and retaliation.
For the next three years, the company will be monitored by an outside party, former EEOC Commissioner Fred Alvarez.
One notable feature of these terms is that they reach beyond training requirements. These terms include a focus on changing the culture of the organization by focusing on management accountability. When managers mishandle reports of harassment, organizational responses to harassment breakdown. This settlement will at least require Uber to identify those managers who fail to address concerns, with a goal of holding those managers responsible for their failures.
The EEOC Chair Janet Dhillon remarked that this resolution also serves as a model to businesses looking to address gender inequity in their workplace. Ultimately, this agreement holds Uber accountable and positions the company to transform the tech industry by modeling effective measures against sexual harassment and retaliation.
