CHAUDHRI: Coldplay scandal confirms employee private life is a thing of the past

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Just days ago, most of us didn’t know who Andy Byron was.

The married Astronomer CEO is now a household name after being caught on camera at a Coldplay concert in an embrace with Astronomer’s Chief People Officer. It has been alleged that the two are involved romantically.

Several workplace legal issues spring up with this footage going viral on virtually every social media platform.

First, even though the footage was taken outside of normal business hours, at a concert, by a stranger, it doesn’t mean it’s off limits. Astronomer may reasonably take issue with the conduct of its executives, even during private, personal time.

Second, CEOs are the repository of goodwill for the organizations they lead. Because of that, Byron, as a condition of his role, must try to avoid conflicts of interest, real and perceived. The concert footage suggests he did not do that here.

Leaders must be seen to be fair, neutral and always acting in the best interests of the company. Always. Even when one thinks no one is watching.

CEOs are fiduciaries and people leaders. At their best, leaders of an organization model the values and ethos of a company in their everyday lives. No doubt, it is a high and sometimes punishing standard.

An intimate inter-office relationship with the head of human resources is not just optically bad. It suggests that the standard of professionalism at the company has been completely dropped. Byron and his colleague did not toe the company line or live by the employee code of conduct.

Thirdly, context matters. Perhaps the relationship we saw on screen was already known and disclosed to the organization. Byron’s leadership, too, may be tied to the company’s valuation and ability to raise funds.

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For example, Astronomer announced in May that it has secured $93 million in series D funding from investors, including Bain Capital Ventures and Salesforce Ventures. Byron’s continued leadership may be a condition of this massive funding round.

Lastly, a few seconds of video never tells the whole story. In a world where more and more of our private lives are being splashed across social media, we should be careful to cast judgment too soon. After all, employees of every station make mistakes. It is only the unlucky few that have their mistakes so instantly exposed for public consumption.

Despite all the legal and employment issues the video presented, Byron’s time at Astronomer has officially come to an end.

“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” the company said in a statement Saturday afternoon.

Astronomer announced that Byron tendered his resignation as CEO and the company’s board has accepted it and will begin a search for their next leader.

Have a workplace question? Maybe I can help! Email me at sunira@worklylaw.com and your question may be featured in a future column.

The content of this article is general information only and is not legal advice.