Employees say 'block lists' are happening across all industries, from tech to hospitals

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20-03-2025

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Good morning. Best of luck with your March Madness brackets today as the games tip-off. Especially if you work at Berkshire Hathaway, where it's possible to win $1 million if your first-round picks are accurate enough.
In today's big story, BI uncovered Meta's secret "block lists" — and it turns out the practice may be far more widespread than many job seekers realize.
What's on deck
Markets: A Wall Street analyst still sees Tesla's sharp correction as a good opportunity to buy its stock.
Tech: As Microsoft shakes up its performance review process, one exec is taking on a new role.
Business: The American whiskey business has some growing pains. Tariffs could make them way worse.
But first, have you been blocked?"A special kind of cruelty" is how one ex-Meta employee described it.
Earlier this month, BI's Pranav Dixit revealed that Meta maintains secret "block" lists of employees who are ineligible for being rehired.
If you find your name on one of Meta's lists, you're pretty much stuck. Not even a glowing performance record or help from a VP can get you off it.
Laszlo Bock, a former Google HR chief, was shocked by BI's report: "I've never heard of anything like this," he wrote on LinkedIn. "I've sometimes heard an exec say, 'don't ever re-hire this person', but never seen a large scale, systematic approach like this."
But what's more shocking is the practice may be more widespread than many realize.
Since BI's initial report, employees from across corporate America have shared similar experiences of applying for roles at former employers, only to be mysteriously ghosted by recruiters or quietly marked as "ineligible for rehire."
Many employees only found out they were on these lists after they had already left their companies and tried to rejoin — more may still not even know they're on them.
Employees say block lists are happening across all industries, from tech to hospitals.
A nurse with 38 years of experience told BI: "If a manager has a beef against an employee, they can easily keep them from being hired again."
A former employee of a major chip company said they were "banned for life" from working there despite a promotion and a raise right before they were laid off: "Why? No one seems to know."
Karen Liska, an attorney and director of people operations at SafeSend, shed some light in an interview with BI. The lists ensure a "source of knowledge within the business about which former employees may not be viable future candidates," Liska said.
However, Liska has also written that the lists can be used "improperly as part of retaliation or to maintain discriminatory practices."
Read the full story.
1. Interest rates steady; stagflation fears up. The Fed met Wall Street expectations when it held interest rates steady Wednesday. But its new economic projections, which include higher inflation and lower growth, signal the growing possibility of a dreaded stagflation scenario.
2. The upside of Tesla's stock crash. An analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald thinks now's the time to invest in Tesla, and he shared 7 reasons why, including the introduction of its Robotaxi segment.
3. Nvidia's roadblock. One analyst thinks the chipmaker may not grow next year if GPU demand dwindles. They argue Nvidia's biggest customers may rein in AI spending, leaving the company scrambling to sell chips to new customers.
1. What Google's top bosses are saying about the $32 billion Wiz deal. The search giant's plan to acquire the cybersecurity startup comes at a critical moment. BI reviewed leaked memos sent to employees to see why.
2. Microsoft replaces its longtime chief people officer. CEO Satya Nadella announced Kathleen Hogan is moving to a new role as the tech giant rethinks its performance review process. Read Nadella's email to employees.
3. Sorry, fanboys. Apple is becoming a utility. Apple's AI rollout might matter to a small fraction of customers. For everyone else, we just need our iPhones to work — with or without AI. The slow-and-steady upgrade cycle, not the sexy new features, is the main driver of sales growth.
1. Hit the road, Jack Daniels. Trump's trade war could crush a beloved sector: the American whiskey industry. Looming tariffs mean some favorite craft brands might fold if they can't hit enough shelves in the US or abroad.
2. A recession isn't here, but the memes are. Canceled lash appointments and throwbacks to 2008 pop culture — these are some of the informal "recession indicators" taking over the internet. As investors signal potential recession fears, people are using memes to cope.
3. Gen Z want to be doctors, but only if it makes them rich. Relative to other doctors, family physicians don't make a boatload. Despite the rise in med students over the past decade, many gravitate toward competitive specialties, leaving vacancies in primary care.
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The Insider Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York (on parental leave). Hallam Bullock, senior editor, in London. Nathan Rennolds, editor, in London. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.
Read the original article on Business Insider