WotC Kotaku reports that "Wizards Of The Coast Deadnamed Trans Employees In Front Of Their Colleagues During Union Election, Apologized, Then Did It Again"

[SteveC]

I had heard about this, but it is the sort of thing that sounded like a clickbait, "Here's the next reason WotC is done!" video. But this looks to be a thing that happened. Wow.

 

[JDazzle]

I did a little digging on the NLRB site for information on the "Excelsior" List requirements and... it doesn't specify anything other than "name" and further research gives me a longer document... which links to an even longer document and I have not yet been able to find a statement clarifying whether an alias is allowed.

I would assume that the regulations would mean "legal name" but I've seen enough legal documents to know that they clarify that kind of stuff quite clearly somewhere near the beginning... but I can't find it!

Regardless, this doesn't minimize the harm that people have endured by seeing their dead name, but it might provide some fire to help change things to make it easier in the future to change their name.

NLRB Representation Case-Procedures Fact Sheet | National Labor Relations Board

Final Rule: Representation-Case Procedures The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Final Rule governing representation-case procedures is designed to remove unnecessary barriers to the fair and expeditious resolution of representation questions. The Final Rule will streamline Board...

www.nlrb.gov

Federal Register :: Request Access

www.federalregister.gov

Federal Register :: Request Access

www.ecfr.gov

What I've found so far for those that want to dig through it or have some professional interest in it

(You're welcome Kotaku)

 

[MonsterEnvy]

So you have never worked for a midsize to large company then?

Yeah stuff like this is more likely in big complicated companies.

 

[Nobleshield]

As I understand it, the document published their legal names. Sorry not sorry, but while I'm all for calling someone whatever name they want, a legal document should use your LEGAL name. If you want to use a different name, then change it legally.

 

[Autumnal]

I can hardly imagine working in HR for a company like Wizards and being this clueless.

Especially once they effed up the first time; you'd expect them to be more careful going forward.

I’m afraid I can. As a Jet Propulsion Laboratories, Dad dealt with both NASA and Caltech bureaucracies. I seen some stuff.

 

[DEFCON 1]

So they should stay out of that bar, or restaurant, or city or state or county too then?

That’s what that first post of yours sounds like to me in the given context.

I’m not sure you meant anything like that, I hope so anyway. Hence my “bad take”.

The actual subject matter of the initial post article getting connected to my point clouds things I'm sure, which is why I was fine with your initial response. Because the actual article's topic doesn't actually have anything to do with my point, which was purely a comment based upon various posters' anger or irritation with a company for whom they continue to interact with even though in any other situation they would have just walked away. A "I hate you, but I can't quit you!" kind of thing. To me it just makes no sense.

 

[soviet]

That's fine. I'm okay with you disagreeing with me. But my attitude has always been the same-- I don't go to any of the threads or subforums involving games and/or companies I don't care about, because I have better things to do with my time. So it just perplexes me why some many people seem to want to keep themselves perpetually upset rather than just washing their hands of the game/company they hate. I have never seen the point.

Does this apply to responding to posts you don't like? Or is it just other people that should keep their criticisms to themselves?

 

[MGibster]

You’d be surprised. A company like WotC is going to have a very large HR department, it’s easy for mistakes to happen, or for individual HR staff to hold personal views that aren’t consistent with the company’s stated values.

I am sad to say I work with a few transphobes in my own HR department, so I can confirm that just because you're in HR it doesn't necessarily follow that you're not a bigot. Sometimes we also run into limitations due to regulation, policy, or even our software. While my employees are able to enter their preferred names into our human capital management system, my employer uses legal names for any and all business processes. You might prefer being referred to as James Tiptree, and that's fine, but your user name is going to be based on Alice Bradley until you get a legal name change. And every employee who looks you up in the system will see both your legal and preferred name.

Whenever I create a report with the names of employees, it will have both their legal and preferred name on it, and I don't necessarily know which of my employees are trans and should be filtered. I thought we only had one, but earlier this year, out of the blue, BAM! Surprise trans! And the only reason I found out was she had to disclose it to me because it was related to an issue she was having with our insurance provider. It was resolved quickly, to everyone's satisfaction.

 

[trappedslider]

Most likely nothing despicable here, just a bureaucracy being a bureaucracy.

well it's WotC so it's naturally despicable.

 

[Azzy]

well it's WotC so it's naturally despicable.

They're child's play compared to Nestle or Monsanto.