New Online Tool Helps Workers In Hollywood Report Harassment, Workplace Misconduct

The Hollywood Commission, a nonprofit organization focused on improving protections against sexual harassment and workplace abuse in the entertainment industry, just launched a new tool that will allow workers to report misconduct online.

It is called MyConnext.

What is it?

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Through MyConnext, workers can report instances of discrimination and learn about their options for reporting. Beyond being an online resource, it also offers to connect industry workers to its ombuds office about their options on reporting harassment complaints.

The new tool comes in response to a recent commission survey from industry workers, who asked for more resources to understand how to report harassment and workplace abuse. Ninety-three percent of workers also asked for new technology to assist them in reporting such cases, said executive director Malia Arrington.

The Hollywood Commission was founded by film producer and executive Kathleen Kennedy and entertainment lawyer Nina Shaw in 2017 following the #MeToo movement. The commission is led by board chair and president Anita Hill.

What can it do?

Some features of MyConnext include online messaging, where workers can ask questions anonymously about their specific organization’s rules and process around reporting, said Arrington. Workers have the option to report instances of misconduct anonymously. Arrington also explained that MyConnext offers a time-stamped recording feature that allows workers to write down instances of misconduct as they happen and hold onto them for future reporting or for personal records.

MyConnext’s main feature is its “hold for match” function. If someone is reporting an instance of abuse, they can choose to “hold” to file until someone else reports a similar complaint for the same individual. Then the two reports can be filed together.

“That hold for match function essentially allows a worker who doesn't necessarily want to make a report unless they know it's part of a pattern of behavior,” said Arrington. “It can sometimes help people feel more confident to come forward if they know that they are standing shoulder to shoulder with someone else who's willing to participate in that process.”

Arrington stressed that one report is always enough.

Who can use it?

MyConnext is currently only open to workers who are part of the Directors Guild of America or the Writers Guild, work on Amazon and Netflix productions in the United States or for the Kennedy/Marshall Company, or are members of SAG-AFTRA. Arrington said that the Hollywood Commission hopes to include more organizations in the future.

Those qualified to participate will be given a unique QR code to scan in their employee paperwork or have access to the tool through their guild log-in pages. MyConnext will send their report to the corresponding organization for next steps. MyConnext does not conduct investigations on allegations, said Arrington.

Helping the industry move forward

Although MyConnext is its own organization with a separate management committee, Arrington said the Hollywood Commission will receive aggregate data from the MyConnext reporting tool and from MyConnext’s ombuds office. This will allow the commission to track the success of the tool, find out what features are being used, what common questions workers have, and other patterns to help further efforts of accountability in the industry, said Arrington.

“There's really a huge opportunity that this will lead toward greater change and that we will be able to enhance confidence and accountability and the belief that something will be done and that folks will be free from retaliation,” said Arrington. “Truly every single worker that MyConnext helps is a step forward.”