Braintrust Network Standards

Introduction

These Community Standards establish a shared standard for professional behavior for all participants of the Braintrust network, including but not limited to: Clients, Talent, Connectors, Referrers, etc.  The success of the Braintrust network is predicated on the professional behavior of all the parties involved.  

These Community Standards are part of Braintrust’s Code of Conduct, Terms and Referral Terms. Participants of the Braintrust network, especially Clients, Talents, Connectors and Referrers are subsequently referred to as “Users”. 

Users who violate these Community Standards may, at Braintrust’s sole discretion, be temporarily or permanently barred from the Braintrust network, depending on the severity of the misconduct, and report to relevant authorities at our discretion.

Braintrust will update these Community Standards from time to time, though there may be unforeseen situations leading to account deactivation that are not explicitly listed in this policy.

Fraud and Misrepresentation

Braintrust expects all Users to present themselves truthfully and accurately and may permanently deactivate any account associated with fraudulent activity. Specifically:

• All information on a User’s profile must be true, accurate and complete. Users agree to provide Braintrust with true, accurate and complete profile information and to promptly update that information as it changes. Braintrust or a third-party background check service provider may verify information provided by or about a User. If requested, Users must assist Braintrust or such third party in the verification process.
• Users will not provide false or misleading information about their identity, location, business, projects or services and will correct any such information that is or becomes false or misleading. Users will not impersonate any person or entity (including creating an account under a fake or borrowed name).
• Clients posting projects must fully disclose context that is relevant and critical to an Talent’s ability to successfully complete a Project. 
• Talent must have legal and beneficial ownership of, and all rights and interest in, any materials underlying the work product created in connection with a Project.  
• Work products must not include any misrepresentation or fraudulent data. Talents are required to disclose any sources used in work product in accordance with generally accepted research practices (i.e., proactively cite primary or secondary information sources that are not their own) as a matter of general practice and upon request from the Client or Braintrust.

Discrimination, Harassment, and Abusive Conduct

Braintrust maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding all forms of discrimination, harassment, or abuse.  Users may not refuse to provide or accept services based on a person’s race, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, gender identity, age or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law. Users are in compliance with Braintrust’s Code of Conduct.

Braintrust, in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local anti-discrimination and harassment laws and regulations, enforces this policy in accordance with the following definitions and guidelines:

Discrimination

It is a violation of Braintrust's to discriminate in the provision of employment opportunities, benefits or privileges; to create discriminatory work conditions; or to use discriminatory evaluative standards in employment if the basis of that discriminatory treatment is, in whole or in part, the person's race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information or marital status.

Discrimination of this kind may also be strictly prohibited by a variety of federal, state and local laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination Act of 1967 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This policy is intended to comply with the prohibitions stated in these anti-discrimination laws.

Harassment

Braintrust prohibits harassment of any kind, including sexual harassment, and will take appropriate and immediate action in response to complaints or knowledge of violations of this policy. For purposes of this policy, harassment is any verbal or physical conduct designed to threaten, intimidate or coerce another user on the Braintrust network.

The following examples of harassment are intended to be guidelines and are not exclusive when determining whether there has been a violation of this policy:

• Verbal harassment includes comments that are offensive or unwelcome regarding a person's national origin, race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, appearance, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status or other protected status, including epithets, slurs and negative stereotyping.
• Nonverbal harassment includes distribution, display or discussion of any written or graphic material that ridicules, denigrates, insults, belittles or shows hostility, aversion or disrespect toward an individual or group because of national origin, race, color, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, appearance, disability, sexual identity, marital status or other protected status.

All reports of discrimination, harassment or abusive conduct are taken very seriously and may result in permanent loss of access to the Braintrust network.  If you feel that you have been treated inappropriately by another User, please contact conduct@usebraintrust.com

Reviews and Ratings

Reviews and ratings are an opportunity for both Clients and Talents to build a positive reputation on the Braintrust Talent Marketplace.  Reviews and ratings should be truthful, clear, fact-based and helpful to both the recipient and the wider Braintrust community. Braintrust reserves the right to remove reviews that violate these review guidelines.

Users can only write a review or provide a rating after a Project is completed.  Reviews and ratings may be available to other Users viewing another User’s profile or completed Projects.

To report a review that violates these review guidelines, please contact conduct@usebraintrust.com

Professionalism and Quality

Users on the Braintrust network are expected to communicate professionally and in good faith.  Additionally, Clients should expect to engage with Talent producing high-quality work. Braintrust may temporarily or permanently deactivate accounts associated with Users that receive reviews, ratings, or complaints regarding a lack of professionalism or quality.

Mediation Processes and Procedures

Braintrust may assist in the fair and timely resolution of a complaint or dispute between Users.  Braintrust may take the following actions, including but not limited to:

• Contact all Users involved to obtain information;
• Review Project-related or user-provided data and correspondence captured on the platform and gathered through conversations with involved parties;
• Request additional materials evidencing communications between the involved parties;
• Coordinate mediation between the Users involved in the complaint or dispute;
• Determine an appropriate outcome, including, but not limited to, User account deactivation, partial payment, payment refund, and/or project re-staffing;
• Communicate the outcome to all involved parties; and
• Promptly carry out the mediation outcome.
• Braintrust expects all Users to cooperate with any investigations or other activities by Braintrust in furtherance of the above procedures. 
• If Braintrust temporarily or permanently deactivates a User’s account, the User is prohibited from creating a new account under his or her name, a fake or borrowed name, or the name of any third party, even if he or she is acting on behalf of the third party.  In addition to temporarily or permanently revoking a User’s access to Braintrust’s Talent Marketplace, Braintrust reserves the right to any other remedies available under applicable law.

All questions or complaints should be sent to conduct@usebraintrust.com

Alternative Legal Remedies

Nothing in this policy may prevent the complainant or the respondent from pursuing formal legal remedies or resolution through local, state or federal agencies or the courts.