Original title: Uber repeals the mandatory arbitration clause, and victims of sexual harassment can sue publicly to protect their rights
Uber said on Tuesday that it was changing its long-standing mandatory arbitration policy. The policy may exempt employees, drivers or passengers from legal liability in sexual harassment cases.
The important reason for this is that the mandatory arbitration clauses for employees and customers have been criticized by the public (including Uber whistleblower Susan Fowler), because companies can use these clauses to silence victims and cover up their potential illegal activities.
Victims can now choose how to charge sexual harassment and abuse according to their own wishes - mediation, arbitration or public court.
Then, it is important to note that immunity only applies to individual claims, not to class actions. So the women's group that recently asked Uber's board to release them from the arbitration clause will be able to sue Uber only under specific requirements, and only in their personal capacity.
Since 2016, Uber employees have been able to opt out of the arbitration clause; drivers were given this right in 2013 (so this change is largely beneficial to passengers). )
Victims will no longer be required to sign a confidentiality agreement that Uber is trying to cover up sexual harassment as part of a settlement.
Uber said the move was to allow victims to speak out about what happened to them and seek legal aid without hesitation or silence.
Note: any terms of the settlement, such as the amount of compensation received by the victim from Uber, will be kept confidential.
Uber also promised that it would eventually publish a report, which would include data on sexual harassment and abuse cases and other potential security incidents.
A specific release date has not been set, but a Uber spokesman told Axio that Uber's chief legal officer, Tony West, believes the report can be completed next year.
Uber said that there is no precedent for a transportation company like it. The first thing it can do now is to work with other experts to develop a specific framework and implementation method for analyzing and interpreting data.
That is to say, although this is an important step taken by Uber in the face of public opinion, Uber still has many problems to be solved, such as the class action against the company. The move did not take into account other internal problems, such as unfair pay and so on.