IBM employees in Brazil are challenging the tech company’s classification of them as sales workers rather than tech workers, according to Rest of World. Legal Battle for Recognition A legal battle in Minas Gerais set a precedent in 2018 when a regional court ruled in favor of the IT workers’ union. The court ordered IBM to acknowledge the union as the legal representative of its employees in the state, recognizing them not as sales personnel but as tech workers. This changed the benefits these employees could access, including a reduced workweek
Large U.S. employers are 9.5% more likely to contact candidates with names that suggested they were white than those presumed to be Black, a new study has revealed. Uncovering Systematic Bias In a study by leading economists Evan Rose, Patrick Kline and Christopher Walters, approximately 80,000 fabricated résumés were sent out 10,000 jobs at 97 of the largest companies in the U.S. The experiment explored racial and gender biases by alternating names on résumés to imply different ethnicities and genders—such as Latisha or Amy (suggesting Black or white women) and Lamar or
Cornell Tech and the City University of New York (CUNY) are facing a lawsuit filed by Justin Gaffney Samuels, over alleged illegal discrimination in the admissions policy of their Break Through Tech program. The Break Through Tech Program This initiative, aimed at boosting careers in technology for women and non-binary undergraduate students, is now under legal scrutiny for potentially discriminating against men. “As a Black man with a deep interest in technology, I was particularly interested in the opportunities offered by the Break Through Tech programs,” Samuels wrote in the official complaint. “However, upon reviewing the program’s
Jalon Hall, Google’s only Black Deaf employee, has claimed mistreatment and discrimination at the company and has filed a lawsuit. Hall’s Story As reported by the WIRED, in 2020, Hall, an enthusiastic criminal justice master’s graduate, was surprised to receive a LinkedIn message about a job opportunity at Google. Despite her initial skepticism, the offer was genuine, and Hall was soon hired to join Wolverine, a new in-house team tasked with moderating YouTube videos. Her journey to this role was untraditional, as her previous job was at a law firm, where she delved
Tesla Inc. is currently involved in a significant lawsuit involving nearly 6,000 Black employees from its California factory. The group, alleging rampant racism at Tesla’s Fremont plant, received tentative approval from Judge Noël Wise of Alameda County Superior Court to proceed with their class-action lawsuit. This development underscores a continuing struggle with racial discrimination allegations for the renowned electric vehicle manufacturer. A ‘hotbed’ of racism The lawsuit, initiated in 2017 by Tesla employee Marcus Vaughn, claims the factory’s production floor was a “hotbed of racist behavior,” with racial slurs routinely used by co-workers
A group of Democratic lawmakers has called on the Justice Department (DOJ) to pause funding for predictive policing technology amid discrimination concerns. Predictive policing uses computer systems to analyze large sets of data, including historical crime data, to help decide where to deploy police or identify individuals who are purportedly more likely to commit or be a victims of a crime. In a letter released Monday, Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Yvette Clarke, and five other senators asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to halt all DOJ grants. The Concerns With Predictive Policing Technology The letter
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has asked the US Justice Department (DOJ) to investigate the deployment of the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system in Black neighborhoods. The nonprofit raised concerns about the technology being used to justify the over-policing of Black communities. What Is ShotSpotter Gunfire Detection System? ShotSpotter, owned by SoundThinking, a public safety technology company, is a gunshot detection technology. It uses acoustic sensors to detect, locate, and alert law enforcement about illegal gunfire incidents. The digital alerts include a precise location on a map, with corresponding data
Two Black TikTok workers have formed a complaint to the US Government’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) about racism and discrimination they faced at work. Nnete Matima and Joel Carter have accused TikTok’s parent company of racism and retaliation, alleging ByteDance Ltd. terminated their contracts after they spoke up about the discrimination. Nnete Matima Matima told CNN she was attracted to work at TikTok because the social media platform was “built upon Black culture” and the work of Black creators. After seeing TikTok’s pledge of support for the Black community
U.S. Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against SpaceX Over Alleged Discrimination In Hiring Practices
The U.S. Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, for allegedly discriminating against asylees and refugees in hiring. Musk’s SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The Lawsuit The lawsuit alleges that from September 2018 to May 2022, SpaceX routinely discouraged asylees and refugees from applying. It also states the company refused to hire or consider them because of their citizenship status, violating the Immigration and Nationality Act. In job postings over several years, the rocket company wrongly claimed that under federal regulations known as
