What if Bob makes one offensive joke, Alice reports him to HR, HR does nothing, then Bob makes several more of those jokes, then Alice goes straight to the court? If the court would hold the company liable for condoning harassment by not having disciplined Bob the first time, then the company is forced to discipline employees even for one joke.
Also, companies don't have a lot of resources to investigate complaints, so they err on the side of presuming guilt. And the laws are vague, and the awards excessive; and courts adjudicate civil cases on a mere preponderance of evidence basis; and employees avoid actions that carry even a moderate risk of getting them fired.
All of these point in the direction that hostile environment law has a chilling effect on a far, far broader range of speech than what's actually likely to lose a lawsuit.
>Also, companies don't have a lot of resources to investigate complaints, so they err on the side of presuming guilt. And the laws are vague, and the awards excessive; and courts adjudicate civil cases on a mere preponderance of evidence basis; and employees avoid actions that carry even a moderate risk of getting them fired.
Many Thanks! Great articulation of the whole _chain_ of amplifiers for the chilling effects!
What if Bob makes one offensive joke, Alice reports him to HR, HR does nothing, then Bob makes several more of those jokes, then Alice goes straight to the court? If the court would hold the company liable for condoning harassment by not having disciplined Bob the first time, then the company is forced to discipline employees even for one joke.
Also, companies don't have a lot of resources to investigate complaints, so they err on the side of presuming guilt. And the laws are vague, and the awards excessive; and courts adjudicate civil cases on a mere preponderance of evidence basis; and employees avoid actions that carry even a moderate risk of getting them fired.
All of these point in the direction that hostile environment law has a chilling effect on a far, far broader range of speech than what's actually likely to lose a lawsuit.
>Also, companies don't have a lot of resources to investigate complaints, so they err on the side of presuming guilt. And the laws are vague, and the awards excessive; and courts adjudicate civil cases on a mere preponderance of evidence basis; and employees avoid actions that carry even a moderate risk of getting them fired.
Many Thanks! Great articulation of the whole _chain_ of amplifiers for the chilling effects!