Uber Fires At Least 20 Employees After Harassment Investigation

Independent law firm investigated 215 alleged cases of abuse.

June 7, 2017 9:38 am
Uber Fires 20 in Harassment Purge
(Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Despite being the best-known brand behind the ride-hailing boom, Uber has been heading the wrong way in recent months.

The tech company has been dealing with a number of company culture issues—and things appear to have only gotten worse.

After hiring an outside law firm, Perkins Coie, to review 215 HR-related harassment complaints within the company, Uber has fired more than 20 individuals based on those claims, per the Wall Street Journal. Interestingly, while Uber said it did not do anything about 100 of those claims, the other 115 may have some merit.

Uber has also hired former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to do a broader investigation into the company’s culture and suggest what it can do about changing it.

As Rick Rossein, a law professor at City University of New York, noted to the Journal, firing 20 employees for sexual harassment at one time is something that is “unusual,” and “indicates a culture sorely in need of attention by Uber.”

The investigations were sparked by a February blog post written by former employee Susan Fowler Rigetti, who documented in detail sexual harassment at the company that was not addressed.

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