LinkedIn is the target of a BRL 10 million action and business manifesto after taking the ad off the air

The organizations Educafro (Education and Citizenship of Afrodescendants and Needy People) and Centro Santo Dias de Direitos Humanos (Santo Dias Human Rights Center) filed a public civil action against LinkedIn on Wednesday (23) for overturning a vacancy announcement that gave priority to black and indigenous people in the selection process. .

The entities want the social network dedicated to work to be ordered to pay R$ 10 million in collective moral damages, which should be destined to entities or actions defined by the National Council for the Promotion of Racial Equality.

The two entities were the authors of actions against the supermarkets Assaí and Carrefour. In the first, a black man was forced to undress to prove that he had not stolen goods. In the second, João Alberto Silveira Freitas died of asphyxiation after being attacked by security guards at a unit in Porto Alegre (RS).

LinkedIn says its job posting policies don’t allow ads that exclude or show a preference for professionals. The restriction applies, according to the company, to any type of characteristics, whether age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

Sought again this Thursday (24), the platform said it had no new position on the subject.

The lawyer who signs the lawsuit, Marlón Reis, says he understands that LinkedIn’s conduct goes against the Constitution and the commitments assumed by Brazil to deal with the inclusion of vulnerable segments.

The action of the organizations was distributed this Thursday (24) to the 3rd Civil Court of São Paulo. In addition to compensation, they ask that LinkedIn be ordered to make a public commitment to reactivate all jobs with affirmative action and include anti-racist clauses in their contracts.

Companies make manifesto against LinkedIn; Natura&CO, Avon and XP sign

Also on Wednesday, business entities began to publish letters in which they question LinkedIn’s decision, ask the platform to detail the criteria for maintaining job postings and explain how it sees affirmative action programs in Brazil.

In a document titled “Business Manifesto in Advocacy for Affirmative Action,” companies say they are being affected by LinkedIn’s decision to withdraw ads that indicate prioritizing black and indigenous people.

“LinkedIn’s alleged anti-discrimination policy is anachronistic, obtuse and out of step with Brazil’s social, racial and gender reality,” they say.

No company, however, assumes authorship of the text, which is still open for signatures. A list of those who support him was also not released.

THE sheet confirmed, however, that Natura&CO, parent company of Natura, Avon and The Body Shop, and XP signed the manifesto.

Also supporting the initiative are the Mulher 360 movements, the Business Coalition for Racial and Gender Equity, the LGBTI+ Business and Rights Forum, the Ethos Institute and the Business Network for Social Inclusion.

In another position contrary to LinkedIn’s policies, the Business Initiative for Racial Equality group, which brings together 60 large companies, sent a letter to the social network in which it states that the publication policy could mean “a huge setback in the country, theme already exhaustively debated in Brazil in all legal spheres.”

The German company Bayer is one of those that confirmed having signed the letter. In 2020, the company had a trainee for black candidates.

understand the case

THE sheet showed, on Saturday (19), that an announcement of a vacancy for the coordination of the administrative and financial sector of Laut (Center for Analysis of Freedom and Authoritarianism) was dropped by LinkedIn a few days after publication.

LinkedIn states that its policies are detailed, transparent and applied to all users of the platform around the world, and that it starts from the understanding that people with the same talents should have access to the same opportunities.

“We understand that in some countries, such as Brazil, legislation allows employers to apply these criteria in their selection processes. We regularly review our policies to ensure that we support the diversity and inclusion of candidates on LinkedIn and, consequently, in the job market. “, says the platform, in a note.

Procon-SP and the Federal Public Ministry also notified LinkedIn. The consumer protection agency questions the social network about how vacancies are posted on its platform, whether there are guiding policies for the process and how advertisers are informed about them.

For the prosecutors of the Republic, the overthrow of the publication contradicts the efforts for inclusion through affirmative action.

In a note, the MPF says that the Federal Supreme Court (STF) understands measures such as the reservation of vacancies “not only as historical reparation in favor of subordinate groups, but as a way to benefit the whole of society prospectively, through the construction of spaces more plural and less excluding”.

Collaborated Douglas Gravas