Community Guidelines
Last updated: June 1, 2025
The Respect Index exists to hold employers accountable through honest, firsthand reporting. These guidelines protect the integrity of the Platform for job seekers, employees, and companies alike. Reports that violate these guidelines may be removed without notice.
Write from your own experience
Only submit reports about hiring processes, recruiters, or separation events you personally experienced. Do not submit reports on behalf of others, based on secondhand accounts, or about companies you have not directly interacted with as a job applicant or employee.
Be specific and factual
Strong reports describe what happened, when it happened, and what made it notable — positive or negative. "The recruiter never responded after three follow-ups over six weeks" is useful. "This company is terrible" is not. Specific, factual accounts are more credible, more legally defensible, and more useful to other job seekers.
Distinguish opinion from fact
You may share your opinion about a company's hiring process. You may not present opinions as objective facts. Saying "I felt misled about the role's scope" is an opinion. Saying "This company deliberately deceives candidates" as a statement of fact may expose you to legal risk. Frame your experience as your experience.
Do not identify private individuals by name
Do not include the full name of individual recruiters, hiring managers, or employees in your report. You may reference their title or role (e.g., "the recruiter," "the hiring manager," "a VP on the panel"). Public executives of public companies may be referenced by name when their actions are directly relevant to your report and documented publicly.
No fabricated or coordinated reports
Submitting false reports, submitting multiple reports about the same experience, or coordinating with others to flood a company's profile is a serious violation. We use technical and editorial controls to detect coordinated inauthentic activity. Violations may result in permanent removal from the Platform and referral to legal counsel.
No competitor manipulation
Do not submit negative reports about a company you compete with for business purposes. Do not submit positive reports about your own employer. The Platform exists to serve job seekers, not as a competitive intelligence or reputation management tool for businesses.
Positive reports are welcome
If a recruiter was exceptional, a hiring process was transparent and respectful, or a company handled a layoff with dignity — say so. Positive reports are equally valuable and help job seekers identify great places to apply. The Respect Index recognizes companies that do this well through our Awards program.
No personal attacks or harassment
Reports that target individuals with personal attacks, profanity, threats, or content designed to harass rather than inform will be removed. Criticism of a company's process is appropriate. Personal attacks on individuals are not.
Reporting violations
If you see a report that you believe violates these guidelines, use the flag feature on the report or contact us at guidelines@therespectindex.com. We review flagged content and act on clear violations. We do not remove reports simply because a company finds them unflattering.