Google makes it simpler for employees to report harassment and discrimination

Google on Thursday said it's rolling out a new way for its employees to report issues of harassment and discrimination. The search giant said it created a dedicated site for raising those concerns, instead of multiple disparate channels.

That site is available only for the search giant's full-time employees, but the company said a similar site for contractors and temp workers will be available in June.

"A big part of my job is to listen to ideas that Googlers have and take feedback on ways we can improve our workplace," Melonie Parker, Google's newly appointed diversity chief, wrote in a blog post. "We won't implement every idea that our employees (or the outside world) raise, but we always listen, and we consider constructive feedback."

Google also announced a number of other updates it's making to its HR policies. For example, after a four-month pilot, the search giant is expanding a program that lets people who report harassment and discrimination bring a colleague with them for moral support during internal investigations.

The company also released its policy guidelines around discrimination, sexual harassment and workplace conduct. Internally, the company said, it published a report that details employee-related misconduct investigations, including cases of harassment and retaliation.

The policy updates come nearly six months after a major protest at Google that made international headlines. In November, roughly 20,000 Googlers walked out of the company's offices worldwide to protest its handling of sexual assault allegations directed at key executives. Several of the changes announced Thursday, like the program that lets workers bring a colleague to workplace investigations, were direct responses to demands made by protest organizers.