Andy Byron: US tech CEO resigns after Coldplay concert embrace goes viral
www.bbc.com
The company said its leader had not met the expected standard of conduct and accountability.

A US tech company says its chief executive has quit after he was apparently caught on a big screen at a Coldplay concert embracing a female co-worker, in a clip that went viral.

The clip showed a man and a woman hugging on a jumbo screen at the arena in Foxborough, Massachusetts, before they abruptly ducked and hid from the camera.

The pair were identified in US media as Mr Byron, a married chief executive of Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the firm’s chief people officer.

  • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
    492·
    2 days ago

    I am from the UK and this wouldn’t fly here either.

    You can’t be sleeping with your employees dude that’s a clear power imbalance dynamic and you would be fired here too for having a relationship with a subordinate.

    It’s not like companies give a shit who you sleeping with but they have rules in place to prevent abuses of power and also to protect their own image.

    Seems pretty naive that you can only see this from a very limited angle.

    • FelixCress@lemmy.world
      1122·
      3 days ago

      You can be sleeping with your employees dude that’s a clear power imbalance dynamic and you would be fired here too for having a relationship with a subordinate.

      Educate yourself.

      https://www.employmentlawreview.co.uk/personal-relationships-at-work-what-does-uk-law-say/

      You can be forced to disclose relationships and sacked if you fail to do so. You cannot be sacked for having a relationship.

      Completely banning personal relationships at work would likely breach an employee’s right to a private life. However, that doesn’t mean employers can’t put measures in place to mitigate risks to the business caused by such relationships. Policies employers may want to consider implementing include:

      Ensuring that employees disclose any workplace relationships they have so that appropriate steps can be taken to minimise risks

      Restricting employees who deal with recruitment from the process if it involves someone they have a personal relationship with

      Potentially changing an employee’s manager if they’re in a relationship with their current one, providing this doesn’t discriminate against them

      • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
        51·
        2 days ago

        Note in your first paragraph of the quote, it only says likely. So even they admit that there is wiggle room. Nothing in the article specifically protected the right to have a relationship with a subordinate, and in fact says if disclosed they can move people so they are no long subordinate as a result of thier relationship. Which is clearly not saying that company policy can’t involve consequences for having a relationship with a subordinate.

        The CEO wasn’t transparent about it to the board, so he can be fired for that.

        He was married, so he would be breaking a law by having sex with anyone else in many jurisdictions, and the bad image/press that gives the company would be enough to fire him even if it wasn’t illegal where he is.

        The liability alone that she “could” claim she felt pressured into the relationship because he was the boss would likely give them cause to fire him based on his contract.

          • Modern_medicine_isnt@lemmy.world
            2·
            2 days ago

            https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adultery_laws “There are fifteen[6] countries in which stoning is authorized as lawful punishment” (for adultery)

            Plenty more it is just illegal.

            16 us states.

            Punishment and enforcement vary. But it is certainly against the law in a lot of places. In others it will put you “at fault” in divorce proceedings. So maybe not illegal, but has legal consequences.