Over the last several months, we've learned a great deal about the racist and sexist policies within Red Hat (the largest Linux company on Earth) and parent company, IBM.
This includes corporate training which teaches that "Whiteness" is a bad thing, racist "pledge" systems, skin-color based hiring quotas, and more.
Now, thanks to whistleblowers continuing to provide leaked material to The Lunduke Journal, we have learned that Red Hat ignores reports of corporate ethics violations... when those violations are in line with Red Hat's established racist policies.
Red Hat's Ethics Violation Reporting System
Red Hat provides only one system which allows employees to anonymously report ethics violations: The "Red Hat Ethics Hotline" provided by a company named Convercent.
The "Ethics Hotline" includes this note from Tom Savage, Senior Vice President (and General Counsel) for Red Hat:
"Whether you speak up through this Compliance and Ethics Hotline or another reporting channel, take comfort in knowing, as outlined in the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, that Red Hat is committed to protecting associates from retaliation."
However, this statement from Red Hat's General Counsel appears to be untrue. Or, at the very least, Red Hat employees do not believe it to be true. As reported by whistleblowers within Red Hat, it is felt that making purely anonymous complaints is the "only safe way of reporting politically sensitive topics."
Ethics Violations Ignored by Red Hat
According to one whistleblower, reports of ethics violations are "always ignored".
Another whistleblower submitted multiple reports using the "Ethics Hotline", only to have each one "Closed" with no details or resolution of any kind. Reports were closed "suddenly, with no notice or explanation or marking."
The following is a screenshot of one such ethics violation report, using the "Ethics Hotline", which has been "Closed" with no messages, attachments, or response of any kind.
You'll note that this ethics violation report deals directly with race and sex-based discrimination within the hiring and career advancement programs at Red Hat. A topic which, regardless of outcome, is the type of potential "ethics violation" (with severe legal consequences) which any company would want to take seriously.
Yet this "Ethics Hotline" report -- along with several others provided to The Lunduke Journal for review -- was marked as "Closed" with not so much as a note explaining why.
Whether it be the fault of the system being used, an issue with Red Hat corporate policy, or actions of the individuals responsible for reviewing these violation reports... one Red Hat whistleblower says "there is no real way for employees to report ethics violations."
What we know:
- Red Hat (along with parent company, IBM) has multiple racist & sexist programs -- of, at best, dubious legality -- many of which would constitute clear ethics violations.
- While Red Hat provides a mechanism for employees to report such ethics violations, those reports (at least when dealing with the racist & sexist actions of individiuals within the company, and corporate policy) are ignored and "Closed" without a stated reason.
- Red Hat employees feel "unsafe" reporting such violations in any non-anonymous way.
These facts paint a highly unsavory picture of Red Hat's commitement (or lack thereof) to behaving and doing business in an ethical way.
As always, The Lunduke Journal invites Red Hat (and parent company, IBM) to respond if any information within this report is inaccurate in any way. The Lunduke Journal prides itself on accurate, factual reporting and will publish corrections, comments, or clarifications provided by the company.
Become a Tech Whistleblower
The Lunduke Journal takes the privacy of whistleblowers incredibly seriously -- we have a firm rule of never revealing any information regarding the identidy of whistleblowers, and all leaked material is meticulously researched and scrubbed (with all possibly identifying metadata removed) prior to publication.
Do you work in the Tech industry? Have you witnessed concerning activity, which you feel should see the light of day, but don't know how to get the information out there anonymously? This article will walk you through the process, step by step:
Thank you to all of the brave whistleblowers who have already come forward. As they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant.
