{"id":366836,"date":"2021-11-11T23:37:26","date_gmt":"2021-11-11T20:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/citizen-app-hit-with-sex-race-discrimination-suit-amid-union-battle\/"},"modified":"2021-11-11T23:37:26","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T20:37:26","slug":"citizen-app-hit-with-sex-race-discrimination-suit-amid-union-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/citizen-app-hit-with-sex-race-discrimination-suit-amid-union-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"#Citizen app hit with sex, race discrimination suit amid union battle"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Citizen <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a> hit with sex, race discrimination suit amid union battle<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Controversial public safety app Citizen is facing a discrimination suit from an ex-employee, even as it wages a knock-down, drag-out battle with union organizers.<\/p>\n<p>In a suit filed this week, ex-Citizen analyst Heather Bearden accused the Peter Thiel-backed crime-watch app of fostering a hostile work environment where she was \u201cverbally abused, ostracized and humiliated\u201d by superiors based on her race and sexual orientation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bearden\u2019s superiors also passed her over for promotions and were quicker to write her up for infractions because she is black, Native American and gay, the Brooklyn resident alleged in the suit filed in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was ostracized and humiliated,\u201d Darnisha A. Lewis-Bonilla, an attorney for Bearden, told The Post. \u201cThis was a result of her race and sexual orientation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Bearden claims that users of Citizen \u2014 a public safety app that sends out alerts with images and videos of nearby fires, shootings and other emergencies \u2014 posted racist and homophobic terms like the word \u201cf\u2014\u2014t\u201d on the app and called for violence \u201cincluding the shooting of Black people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When Bearden complained about the disturbing content in January 2020 and asked the company to take a \u201czero tolerance\u201d attitude toward the users who post it, Citizen failed to address her concerns for months until eventually implementing a hate speech policy in June, according to the suit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"618\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/11-broadway-citizen_01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Citizen app lawsuit\" class=\"wp-image-20113770\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/11-broadway-citizen_01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/11-broadway-citizen_01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/11-broadway-citizen_01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Former Citizen employee Heather Bearden says the company failed to crack down on hate speech.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">United States District Court<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Bearden \u2014 a Brooklyn resident who made a $64,000 salary at Citizen \u2014 says she eventually quit her job in October 2020 because she was \u201cunable to endure the discrimination and hostile work environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The company, which is headquartered in downtown Manhattan, has not yet filed a legal response to the suit, according to court records.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A Citizen spokesperson said the company is \u201cnot in position to comment on particulars of ongoing litigation matters\u201d but added that \u201ccreating a safe and diverse work environment is essential for us at Citizen as it supports our mission to promote safety in diverse communities across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>Bearden\u2019s discrimination suit isn\u2019t the only challenge facing Citizen, which has courted controversy and raised $133 million in venture capital since it was first founded as \u201cVigilante\u201d in 2015.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In September, a group of Citizen employees filed with the National Labor Relations Board to hold a union election \u2014 a move that The Post first reported was prompted by efforts to outsource some work to overseas contractors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The union is being organized through the Communications Workers of America, which also represents Verizon and AT&amp;T employees. It would mostly cover employees of Citizen\u2019s central operations division, which includes people who write alerts about emergencies based on 911 calls and user reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Citizen has come out with guns blazing against the organizing effort, blasting \u201cmeddling from an outside union\u201d and tapping white-shoe law firm McDermott, Will &amp; Emery to represent the company in conversations with the NLRB.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Organizers have accused Citizen of trying to sabotage the union push, including through illegal \u201csurveillance,\u201d \u201cthreats,\u201d and \u201cinterrogation\u201d of employees, according to NLRB filings made by Communications Workers of America attorney Nick Hanlon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"606\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/11-broadway-citizen_02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Citizen app lawsuit\" class=\"wp-image-20113816\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/11-broadway-citizen_02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1536 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/11-broadway-citizen_02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/11-broadway-citizen_02.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Citizen\u2019s office is located in downtown Manhattan.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Google Maps<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Union election ballots were mailed to Citizen workers on Nov. 5 following a failed attempt by Citizen\u2019s attorneys to delay the vote. Citizen had argued that holding the election through the mail would \u201cdisenfranchise\u201d remote workers who could be <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a>ing or working remotely from locations where they won\u2019t be able to cast their votes. <\/p>\n<p>The attorneys asked the NLRB to push back the election and said it should be conducted electronically \u2014 a prospect that Hanlon blasted as \u201ca clear attempt to impede and delay the election through the filing of frivolous briefs and appeals\u201d in a letter to the NLRB. <\/p>\n<p>The NLRB ultimately rejected Citizen\u2019s request to delay the election. Mail-in ballots were sent to employees last Friday and must be returned by Dec. 1, according to agency records. Votes will be tallied by Dec. 17, records show. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/andrew-frame_01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Citizen app lawsuit\" class=\"wp-image-20113868\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/andrew-frame_01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/andrew-frame_01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/andrew-frame_01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Citizen CEO Andrew Frame<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Steve Jennings<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Citizen declined to comment on the union effort.\u00a0Hanlon and the Communications Workers of America did not reply to requests for comment.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/11\/11\/citizen-app-hit-with-sex-race-discrimination-suit-amid-union-battle\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Citizen app hit with sex, race discrimination suit amid union battle&#8221; Controversial public safety app Citizen is facing a discrimination suit from an ex-employee, even as it wages a knock-down, drag-out battle with union organizers. In a suit filed this week, ex-Citizen analyst Heather Bearden accused the Peter Thiel-backed crime-watch app of fostering a hostile&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":366837,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/11\/newspress-collage-20107836-1636662435702.png?w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[7309,118783,5055,4998,70446,71102,72193,4913],"class_list":["post-366836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-unions","tag-11-11-21","tag-apps","tag-crime","tag-lawsuits","tag-racial-discrimination","tag-sexual-discrimination","tag-suits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=366836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/366836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/366837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=366836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=366836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=366836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}