Meta tells workers NOT to mention abortion on internal chat due to 'an increased risk' the tech giant is seen as a 'hostile work environment' (but staff point out BLM and trans rights is fine)

Daily Mail UK ^ | May 20, 2022 | Natasha Anderson

[Morgana]

Facebook employees were told to stop discussing abortion at work after the subject has become 'the most divisive and reported topic' on the company's internal chat system.

Executives at Meta, its parent company, allege abortion discussions on Workplace, an internal social media platform, have put the organization at 'an increased risk' of being seen as a 'hostile work environment,' The Verge reported.

VP of HR Janelle Gale, during a town hall meeting Thursday, told staff the abortion discussions isolate certain employees and are harmful to the work environment.

'Even if people are respectful, and they're attempting to be respectful about their view on abortion, it can still leave people feeling like they're being targeted based on their gender or religion,' she said. 'It's the one unique topic that kind of trips that line on a protected class pretty much in every instance.'

Executives also argued that discussing abortion on company platforms was a violation of Meta's Respectful Communication Policy, which prohibits employees from discussing 'opinions or debates about abortion being right or wrong, availability or rights of abortion, and political, religious, and humanitarian views on the topic.'

The policy, which has reportedly been in effect since 2019, has caused division among employees after a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion revealed the court has voted to strike down the landmark 1973 ruling Rove v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States.

Some Meta employees have called on management to eliminate the abortion policy, arguing that it contradicts rules allowing workers to talk 'respectfully' about other hot-button issues like Black Lives Matter, immigration and transgender rights.

[alternatives?]

I suspect any discussion on BLM has to be how far to go in one direction.

[rbg81]

One of these days, the unhinged nutjobs at these Big Tech companies will just start killing each other.

[unlearner]

I’m sure they’re doing this for more than just “perception”. There is also a very real risk of lawsuits based on discrimination against a person based on the protected class to which he or she belongs. Religion and sex (male/female) are protected categories.