Glassdoor

2022 - 7 - 19

Post cover — Image courtesy of "New Zealand Herald"

Kiwi toy giant Zuru wins legal battle to identify and sue aggrieved ex ... (New Zealand Herald)

A US court is set to force workplace review site Glassdoor to reveal identities of users.

"We typically prevail in the vast majority of these types of cases. The company aimed to " empower job seekers in New Zealand and around the world to have access to information from those who know companies best," Glassdoor said. A statement from Glassdoor via a New York public relations firm said the company was dismayed by the Court's decision and fights to protect the identities of users. Glassdoor earlier said it intended to fight to protect the identities of its users. Zuru's page featured a number of negative reviews and documents filed in a United States District Court in California show the toy giant wants Glassdoor to reveal the names and contact details of people who posted purported negative experiences. A multinational toy company founded in New Zealand appears to have won a legal battle to force a review site to reveal the identities of aggrieved former workers who posted scathing reviews of its company culture.

US court orders Glassdoor to give reviewer information to NZ ... (Stuff.co.nz)

The NZ-founded toymaker wants to identify former workers who posted scathing reviews on Glassdoor, so it can sue them for defamation.

And those articles are free. Glassdoor said to date, it had succeeded in protecting the anonymity of users in more than 100 cases. Glassdoor argued the reviews constituted opinions, which the company argued were not subject to defamation liability, and that Zuru had not proven it had suffered monetary loss as a result of the reviews, a requirement for claims of defamation against a company. Zuru's co-founders argued the company had to spend time and resources in combatting the negative publicity, and spend more on recruiting staff as a result of the reviews. The court did not require Glassdoor to supply information about the number of people who had seen or engaged with the reviews. Zuru intended to sue the reviewers for defamation in New Zealand, where Zuru was founded, and the reviewers worked, case notes show.

Glassdoor ordered to reveal anonymous reviewers (ACS)

Workplace review website Glassdoor will have to reveal the identities of former employees who left negative reviews about New Zealand toy company Zuru.

A spokesperson for Zuru told Stuff the company was “pleased” the reviews it called “spam” have been removed and that it “cannot comment on anything further relating to pending litigation”. The company has been wanting to file a defamation suit against the authors of six reviews of the company on Glassdoor but couldn’t because the reviews were submitted anonymously. Workplace review website Glassdoor will have to reveal the identities of former employees who left negative reviews about New Zealand toy company Zuru.

NZ toy business Zuru wins US court battle over ex-employees ... (RNZ)

New Zealand toy company Zuru plans to sue former employees who anonymously wrote scathing online reviews of the company, according to court documents.

Zuru wants to protect its reputation. The case played out in the US district court in California, where Glassdoor is headquartered. Glassdoor wants to safeguard anonymous speech on its website.

Glassdoor ordered to reveal identity of negative reviewers to New ... (The Guardian)

Court says workplace review platform must identify anonymous users who made Zuru 'sound like a horrible place to work'

“To date, we have succeeded in protecting the anonymity of our users in more than 100 cases filed against our users,” it said. “Glassdoor wants to safeguard anonymous speech on its website. Zuru wants to protect its reputation. Tse wrote: “There’s good reason to tread lightly in applying US free-speech principles abroad. It wants to sue the reviewers for defamation in New Zealand, the country where the company was founded and where the reviewer or reviewers allegedly worked. The company argued that it “has had to expend money, time, and resources in combatting the negative publicity, negative perception, and harm to [Zuru’s] reputation that the [r]eviews have caused”,

Court orders Glassdoor to name negative reviewers of toymaker (Personnel Today)

US District Court orders Glassdoor to reveal identities of users who wrote negative reviews about toymaker Zuru.

We cannot comment on anything further relating to pending litigation.” He said: “Zuru’s defamation claim, while plausible, almost surely won’t make it off the ground without Glassdoor’s help. Alex Tse, a judge in the US District Court, denied Glassdoor’s motion to quash the subpoena.

Glassdoor told to 'unmask' anonymous reviewers (The Times)

Glassdoor's freedom to publish damning anonymous criticism of working conditions at leading companies is under threat after a judge ruled that the website ...

Glassdoor ordered to unmask former toy company employees who ... (Fortune)

Zuru's co-CEOs alleged that anonymous “false, disparaging and defamatory” reviews on the employer-review site materially harmed its business and complicated its ...

“If Zuru’s defamation claim is baseless, Glassdoor may have a legitimate interest in shielding the reviewers’ identities,” Judge Tse wrote. Glassdoor is disappointed in the court’s decision, a company PR contact told New Zealand-based journalist David Farrier. “We note that, contrary to Zuru’s contentions, the unflattering workplace experience reviews describing working at Zuru were authored by multiple former Zuru employees. “Glassdoor wants to safeguard anonymous speech on its website. Even if they’re sued, the company maintains in its FAQ, it will “object to and resist” subpoenas it receives. “And, if necessary and as appropriate, we will appear in court to oppose and defeat your request.” In court, Zuru said it plans to file a defamation lawsuit in New Zealand against whoever posted these on Glassdoor, once their identities are revealed.

Kiwi toy giant Zuru speaks out after US court victory (New Zealand Herald)

Zuru, run by the Mowbrays, took legal action against Glassdoor, a US review site.

"We typically prevail in the vast majority of these types of cases. "We think it's important that reviews are honest and regulated for legitimacy. "Unfortunately, we were alerted to fraudulent reviews being posted on our site. The company aimed to "empower job seekers in New Zealand and around the world to have access to information from those who know companies best", Glassdoor said. In a statement supplied to the Herald, the spokesman said the company believed it was important to hold Glassdoor to account. But a Zuru spokesman won't comment on whether it still intends to take court action in New Zealand against the anonymous users it says defamed the company.

Order for Glassdoor to reveal employee identities 'could make ... (Stuff.co.nz)

Toy company Zuru successfully sued the employer-review website, resulting in it being told to reveal reviewers' identities, and making users wary.

“New Zealand law basically says you can state your opinion in relation to somebody, or in this situation, a corporation. And those articles are free. So in that respect US law was applied,” she said. However, that opinion needs to be genuinely held, and unfortunately you cannot tell if an opinion is genuinely held unless you know the identity of the person who has said the statement,” Chamberlain said. The reason New Zealand law came into play was because the defamation claim was from a New Zealand company against a New Zealand-based commenter or commenters, and the US court wanted to ascertain whether the legal defamation claim in New Zealand was legitimate. A Glassdoor spokesperson downplayed the implications of the case, saying: “The court's decision is a rare outlier under New Zealand law and its implications are limited to reviews involving one employer acting against multiple former New Zealand-based employees.”

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