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

[Umbran]

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

Care may not have much to do with it.

HR probably needs to know employees' legal names. But their software may not have a place to store an alias, preferred name, or nickname.

Moreover, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), like names, addresses, phone numbers, and such, is typically data that HR is required to keep secure. Keeping a separate list of preferred names as a separate spreadsheet on someone's computer is not generally an option, as it is a basis for a lawsuit if it gets out.

The result is, even after the first flub, they may not have had any means to fix it in the short term.

 

[AnotherGuy]

I have a trans friend that a bunch of my other friends have been friends with longer than me. They still sometimes deadname her just cause of how used to the old name they were (though it’s getting rarer as they get used to it).

Misnaming people in casual conversation is common, as I would assume now deadnaming would also be. I have even called a good friend babe whose name begins with a B.
You know when someone is being intentionally hurtful or not.

 

[djotaku]

Me reading the headline: "Wizards Of The Coast Deadnamed Trans Employees..." - I'm not trans, but I understand the frustration. At the same time, people mess up sometimes.

"In Front Of Their Colleagues During Union Election" - this might be some anti-union f*ckery. Companies love to "oops" hurt employees when trying to unionize.

"Apologized, Then Did It Again" - OK, now I really think they are passive-aggressively trying to hurt the unionizers.

After reading the discussion here, I think it's incredibly likely that it's an HR database thing. HOWEVER, apologies don't mean jack if you turn around and do the same thing again. Ideally, if they want to be a company who supports their trans employees, they should invest in an HR database upgrade that allows for "the name I want to be called" even if taxes and so on mean the birth name has to be in the system, too. Curb cut bonus: I know tons of people who go by their middle name or another nick that isn't their legal nickname. Making this HR system change would therefore benefit both trans and non-trans employees. We all win!

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Changing a name is a beurocratic act. And for good reason. So if WotC is leagally advised to use the current official name, there is nothing they can do.

Today I had the exact problem when submitting the marks for one of my students. She is still listed with her dead name... until then I have to adress her like this.

Another student, now a friend of mine, is still adressed with his deadname in school by people that are not as close as I. It takes a bit of time.
And one should cut some slack until every list os corrected and until everyone knows who is now who.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Misnaming people in casual conversation is common, as I would assume now deadnaming would also be. I have even called a good friend babe whose name begins with a B.
You know when someone is being intentionally hurtful or not.

Yeah. I halfway deadnamed a friend, because my wifes character and my friend's deadname are very similar. I was very sorry. But that happens...
... people make mistakes. And the past is not erased and hetting used to it takes time.

 

[Stalker0]

Care may not have much to do with it.

HR probably needs to know employees' legal names. But their software may not have a place to store an alias, preferred name, or nickname.

Moreover, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), like names, addresses, phone numbers, and such, is typically data that HR is required to keep secure. Keeping a separate list of preferred names as a separate spreadsheet on someone's computer is not generally an option, as it is a basis for a lawsuit if it gets out.

The result is, even after the first flub, they may not have had any means to fix it in the short term.

Yep, now that said, the mistake then in this case would have been after the first apology....as that makes it sound like a mistake that they are then "fixing".

But if the limitation is your system, or simply you use legal names for that matter and that's all you got, then that's the communication you would give back. Its "I am very sorry that the usage of legal names has caused hurt or confusion, but unfortunately this is the only nomenclature we have access to for such activities"....yada yada legalese yada yada CYA.

So it may be that they got yelled out, reacted with "oh we will get right on it", and then realized "oh **** we can't change this"

 

[Autumnal]

JPL, NASA, and Caltech being known for employing a relatively high percentage of queer and trans folks, in your dad's time?

no, but they have students and employees from all the continents but Antarctica and routinely deal with many approaches to naming other than American standards. Despite this, weird errors still happened.

 

[Mannahnin]

Yep, now that said, the mistake then in this case would have been after the first apology....as that makes it sound like a mistake that they are then "fixing".

But if the limitation is your system, or simply you use legal names for that matter and that's all you got, then that's the communication you would give back. Its "I am very sorry that the usage of legal names has caused hurt or confusion, but unfortunately this is the only nomenclature we have access to for such activities"....yada yada legalese yada yada CYA.

So it may be that they got yelled out, reacted with "oh we will get right on it", and then realized "oh **** we can't change this"

Exactly. System limitations can be a real thing, but competent communication would disclose that along with the apology.

 

[Laurefindel]

If I run over your foot with my wheelchair, I have harmed you even though I didn’t mean to. It’s on me to be more aware of what’s near my wheels. I need to apologize to you, help to fix any damage, and be more careful in the future.

Same deal with WotC. Intent matters, but it’s not the last word.

From my experience with HR in large and international institutions, bureaucracy is not very agile. I work in a Canadian university - as liberal of an environment you can ask for - but here HR and bureaucracy is not a wheelchair; it's freight train. The best it can do is stop before it runs over your foot, but it can't go around it and it often doesn't stop until it's too late.

The crossing rails are relatively easy to modify and improve - preferred names are no longer restricted to Bob instead of Robert for example - but the course of the tracks themselves takes more time (and more bureaucracy) to change. I can call you Bob at work but I need to hire you as Robert if that's the name on your birth certificate and medical insurance card. It's a lengthy process to change your name to Bob on those documents but it's doable if you're a citizen of my province, but if Robert is the name on the passport and visa that got you here, it's a much more difficult battle. And if I hired you as Robert, your email address and Teams user ID will still be Robert because that's the deal that the institution has with the government and Microsoft and whatnot. Things are changing fast, but "fast" in a bureaucratic democracy is measured in several years. Heck, we're still correcting tracks from issues raised in the '70s.

As I stand with @Alzrius on the importance of raising social injustices and issues when they happen and as they happen, but I also share @Charlaquin disappointment in a stale system and government rather than rage against a single institution. I also recognize that rage and indignation is a necessary step in change. In the meantime, I'm still learning to know more and know better...

 

[Umbran]

So it may be that they got yelled out, reacted with "oh we will get right on it", and then realized "oh **** we can't change this"

With the added note that "they" who did it the first time may be different people than "they" who did it the second time, yeah, this is consistent with many operations.

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