Hi there,

This is your monthly roundup of Spot product updates and DEI-related content.

New from Spot

  • Free HR Resources page: Our new webpage features a variety of workplace culture resources. You’ll find the results of our survey on witness reporting, a legal handbook that clearly explains concepts related to harassment and discrimination, TEDx talks from Spot’s cofounder, sexual harassment prevention compliance checklists, and more.

Coming Soon

  • Not Alone feature: Employees can choose to co-report, so their report only gets submitted if another employee who opts in to the feature names the same individual. If you’re interested in activating this feature when it’s available, please reach out.
  • Bystander intervention training will be available at the end of August! Please let us know if you’re interested in this 1-hour training. (As discussed in more detail in June’s newsletter, if you have employees in Chicago, Illinois, this training may be required.

This Bears Repeating

  • Our new post-Roe interview, Ask a Benefits or Coverage Question, is free to any Spot reporting customer who wants it. Go to Settings > Case management settings in your dashboard to turn on this interview. If you don’t have these settings, email us at [email protected] and we’ll upgrade your dashboard.
  • Unconscious bias microtraining: Try the prototype here
  • On-demand HR coaching: Spot subscribers can get on-demand, hourly coaching with experts from HRuprise! Contact us to discuss the discounted rate and booking process.

In the Spotlight

Spot CEO Jessica Collier recently appeared on the video podcast Degrees of Freedom, discussing the challenges that remain with inclusive talent pipelines in a distributed work world.

Watch the episode

Links Roundup

Words matter: Spot customer US Quadball recently announced their name change from US Quidditch, citing both a desire to distance themselves from Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s anti-transgender rhetoric and trademark issues. (CNN)

Expensive problems are expensive: July was a big month for settlements related to DEI issues. From a Florida Applebee’s to Washington- and Wisconsin-based construction firms to a Vermont McDonald’s, businesses are paying hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to settle incidents of harassment and discrimination based on race, gender identity, and sexual orientation. (SHRM, Construction Dive, Vermont Business Magazine)

On hold for accountability: A group that has tracked corporate commitments to advancing racial equity “in the two years since the killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans” has found in its recent survey that 92% of Americans overall and 95% of Black Americans believe companies ought “to promote racial diversity and equity in the workplace.” 68% and 87%, respectively, believe that organizations have “more work to do.” (JUST Capital)

IMHO: Does the FMLA cover abortion-related travel? According to one expert on employment law and the FMLA, “If it's clear that the treatment involved will occur on Day X, then a court likely would find that the travel necessary to get to the destination by Day X is so intertwined with the need for leave that it should be considered part of the protected leave as well.” (SHRM)