A CEO STILL Can’t Have a Consensual Employee Relationship Because It’s Harassment in Business and at Work

In the statement, Mr. Shell said that today would be his last day and that he had had “an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company.”

“I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 19 years has been a privilege.”

Comcast’s terse statement did not say who would be replacing Mr. Shell at NBCUniversal, which he has led since 2020. In a note to employees on Sunday, Comcast’s chief executive, Brian Roberts, said that Mr. Shell’s senior team would report to Mike Cavanagh, Comcast’s president, putting Mr. Cavanagh in effective control of NBCUniversal.

“We are disappointed to share this news with you,” Mr. Roberts wrote. “We built this company on a culture of integrity. Nothing is more important than how we treat each other.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

In the case of the NBCUniversal CEO, at least he had the good graces to admit to and apologize for the inappropriate relationship as he resigned, unlike a former state governor who essentially denied any responsibility and who continues to attempt to litigate his alleged innocence through his lawyer and in the press (for the record, a workplace investigation of alleged harassment does not require the investigation to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the harassment occurred – only establish that the was a 51% or greater chance that the harassment occurred).

That’s some progress to report and include in the live NYS No-Harassment Training that I deliver – the bright-line boundaries that must be observed in a compliant workplace are often easier to understand when there are real-life press / media examples to reference. And I agree with my employer-side labor lawyer colleagues: computer-based no-harassment training does not register. That assertion proves itself again and again in the amount of time it takes me in a live no-harassment training to get trainees to understand among other key compliance concepts, intent vs. impact.  Employees from the CEO to the front-line worker should participate in live no-harassment training at minimum every other year, if there’s any hope of no-harassment training preventing future acts of workplace harassment.

From NBCUniversal’s PROVIDING A RESPECTFUL WORKING ENVIRONMENT policy:

Workplace Relationships: The Company recognizes that consensual romantic or sexual relationships may exist or develop between employees and does not prohibit them. However, perceived or actual conflicts can arise both during the relationship and after it comes to an end. This risk is greater when the relationship involves a supervisor and a subordinate, no matter how many levels separate them, or when one of the employees can influence or determine the other’s working conditions, regardless of whether they work in the same department. In these situations, the employee with greater authority or influence must report the relationship when it begins to Human Resources, and the other employee is encouraged to report the relationship as well. (Emphasis mine.)

Employees in romantic or sexual relationships that do not involve a disparity in authority or influence are encouraged to tell Human Resources when such a relationship develops, particularly if they work together. While the Company respects the privacy of its employees, knowing about the relationship allows it to assist in navigating any potential workplace issues that may arise.

Once a relationship is brought to the Company’s attention, it will work with the employees to address any potential issues, including any actual or perceived conflict of interest. In these circumstances, the Company may change reporting relationships, transfer one or both of the employees to another position, or take other steps designed to address the situation.

From Comcast / NBCUniversal’s Statement on Harassment and Discrimination:

Employee Training Programs and Communications
We have developed comprehensive and mandatory training programs to educate employees about our Code of Conduct and our harassment and discrimination policies and procedures, including training on the Company’s anti-retaliation policy and how to report concerns. We regularly review our harassment and discrimination training offerings to ensure content is effective.

Employee communications and intranet content across our business units establish “tone from the top” on Company culture and regularly raise awareness about how to speak up.

All of the tools – no-harassment policies, training, communication, etc. – were in place. There’s been plenty of recent history in the mass media about other CEOs who made the same wrong decision and suffered its accompanying consequences, dragging their company down with them. However, the NBCUniversal CEO still made the noncompliant / wrong decision.

Listen, I completely understand, I’ve been an HR practitioner for nearly 34 years – people often fall in love at work; wherever two or more humans are gathered, romantic love inevitably happens. Logic and the human heart just as often (and inconveniently) do not operate simultaneously.

Sunday-evening quarterbacking, another course of action would have spared everyone involved the reputational harm and payroll / legal dollars spent on investigating what the CEO already knew was wrong on a number of levels. If love happens to the CEO and another (subordinate) employee, why not raise your hand, tender your resignation and as responsible adults love one another freely, sparing all involved the above aggravation? I don’t know what the CEO’s personal financial situation was and is, however the assumption that he’s already financially set and able to resign gracefully is not an unreasonable one.  I have no inkling as to what the inside baseball was on this situation. I do know – as it plays out time and time again – that the CEO cannot keep his job and his relationship with his subordinate employee.  Particularly from a compliance standpoint, the CEO cannot have his romantic workplace cake and eat it, too.

How do you (conclusively) ensure that your CEO (and your entire leadership / management team) studiously avoid dating / having sexual relationships with subordinate employees to also avoid subjecting your organization to harassment compliance and reputational liability, in business and at work?