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NYT exec causes outrage after banning LGBTQ employees from making workplace complaints

Natalia Villalobos told a Slack room full of LGBTQ staffers not to raise complaints in a channel dedicated to raising employee concerns
PUBLISHED APR 12, 2023
HR exec Natalia Villalobos faced backlash from LGBTQ staffers  after she asked them not to raise workplace complaints (Natalia Villalobos/LinkedIn, Getty Images)
HR exec Natalia Villalobos faced backlash from LGBTQ staffers after she asked them not to raise workplace complaints (Natalia Villalobos/LinkedIn, Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY, NY: A New York Times executive faced backlash for apparently discouraging a Slack channel filled with LGBTQ employees from raising workplace issues in a channel designated for addressing such concerns. The employees are upset with their human resources executive Natalia Villalobos after she asked them to stop criticizing the company on Slack.

On April 3, Natalia Villalobos, who holds the position of Vice President of Inclusion, Strategy, and Execution at The New York Times, made a post on TimesOut, which is the company's employee resources group for LGBTQ staff. "I just wanted to share a note about discussing or reporting about your workplace experience to ensure everyone knows about our resources," wrote Villalobos.

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The HR executive recommended to the employees various HR-approved channels for expressing their concerns, which included using an "ask-the-company" Slack channel, having a one-on-one meeting with a manager, or directly contacting HR representatives. "Going forward, I want to encourage folxs here to raise concerns or issues via the places above ^^^^ rather than in this ERG channel," she wrote. 

'I’m expected to just shut up and deal with the negativity'

"I can’t help but feel lately like I’m expected to just shut up and deal with the negativity because it might make some of my coworkers feel uncomfortable if I speak up," one reply read, according to the Daily Beast. "It feels completely surreal and disrespectful to get corporate swag branded with a pride flag at the same time as we’re being instructed not to publicly discuss our experiences as queer people in the workplace," said another.

'It was not meant to eliminate community support'

Villalobos responded to the employees' concerns a day later, acknowledging the potential perception problem of HR pushing more HR-approved channels for expressing concerns in a room designated for such conversations. "My post was meant to support the community by offering channels for reporting workplace concerns like discrimination and harassment so that they are received by HR and other partners who can help address them efficiently," she wrote. "It was not meant to reduce sharing, eliminate community support, or tamp down community building."

Villalobos also pledged to conduct office hours and listen to the employees' grievances when she returned from her personal leave. However, it was not clear what prompted her initial message. Her message was sent just three days before Times contributors wrote a letter to the paper's publisher, criticizing the newspaper's response to previous open letters regarding its coverage of trans issues.

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