Managing discrimination claims in the remote workplace

Since March, when many employees began working from home, employers have had to rely on chat applications to help their employees communicate remotely. Whether it’s Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Skype, employees can use the platforms to interact with one another in a similar way to when they worked in the office. With remote communications being made away from the workplace, however, employers must refresh the way they think about, train, and manage antidiscrimination and antiharassment policies in the remote workplace.

Remote workers are on the rise

According to a recent study published by global analytics and advice firm Gallup, U.S. remote workdays have doubled during the pandemic, and one in four workers say they are working entirely from home.

With this work flexibility also comes new responsibilities for employers. For example, Bari Weiss, a writer and editor for the New York Times opinion section, resigned in July, describing a hostile culture that played out, in part, on companywide Slack channels. She claimed her work and character were “openly demeaned where masthead editors regularly weigh in” and noted colleagues had posted emojis of an ax next to her name in Slack exchanges.