The enterprise exudes good intentions and absurdities. Honest job references are taboo, because any unfavorable comment may trigger a defamation suit. And if they don't police workers, the companies may invite charges of sexual harassment. The indictment is grim a bit too grim. Although the absurdities are genuine, they haven't yet crippled American companies.
Companies also cope with the new laws in other ways.
One dubious method is to require workers, as a condition of employment, to submit disputes to arbitration. We are dealing here with the aftershocks of an immense social upheaval. A generation ago, men dominated the labor market in numbers and status. Jobs were rigidly segregated by race and sex. In 1940, about 60 percent of black male workers were laborers or farmers.