Revealed: Cisco talks with pro-Palestine employees over discrimination complaint collapse

Cisco has ended conciliation talks with pro-Palestine employees over a discrimination complaint, Middle East Eye reports. The talks, mediated by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), were initiated following a complaint by Bridge to Humanity (B2H), a group of Cisco employees advocating for the company's ties with the Israeli military to be questioned.

The EEOC found reasonable cause to believe Cisco subjected employees from Muslim and Middle Eastern backgrounds to a hostile work environment. Cisco, however, disagreed with the EEOC's determination and stated it was committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive workplace. The company ended the conciliation process, claiming Cisco was not engaged in good faith.

Christopher Ho, representing B2H, described the abrupt end to the process as a surprise, as the EEOC representative informed B2H representatives and their lawyers that Cisco would not respond to the EEOC's proposal, ending the conciliation. Despite the collapsed mediation, Ho regarded the EEOC's intervention as unprecedented, highlighting the significance of vindicating a group of tech employees who had been harassed or unlawfully treated for speaking out.