Nnete Matima says she was under severe stress at TikTok — she was given heavier workloads, excluded from meetings and found out her supervisors called her names behind her back [a "black snake"]. Matima says she filed a complaint with human resources, but the company disregarded her claims and her managers retaliated. When she filed a second complaint, she was fired.
She and another Black employee, Joel Carter, who had a similar experience at another TikTok office, filed a class action charge against the company on Thursday.
Matima and Carter allege TikTok has a practice of downplaying complaints of racial discrimination and then retaliates against people who speak out. They say this has a chilling effect on other employees from coming forward.
There are two main reasons why employers shouldn't retaliate against employees who complain about discrimination, mistreatment, or other issues at work.
1./ It's illegal. This is the obvious reason. Retaliation is illegal. It will get you sued. Judges and juries do not like employers that retaliate. These employers get punished. If you want to convert a defensible termination into an expensive lesson, retaliate against the complainant(s).
2./ It chills other employees from coming forward. This is the less obvious reason, but it's also the more important one. Matim's and Carter's warning is so important: Tiktok's practice of retaliating against people who speak out "has a chilling effect on other employees from coming forward." If you want to end discrimination, harassment, and other illegal conduct within your organization, you need employees to come forward to bring it your attention. They will not do so if they fear losing their jobs for speaking up and speaking out. You need a culture of compliance, not one of revenge. Compliance starts at the top, and a culture of retaliation makes it nearly impossible.