CHAUDHRI: Racist golf course tirade leaves social media stain on fired CFO
Michael Warrington is a name you probably did not know before his employer, Terra Cotta Investments, outed him as the man that hurled a racial slur at another golfer last weekend at the Georgetown Golf Club.
A video of the incident went viral on Instagram — Warrington and his son caught on camera pacing to and from their golf cart in a confrontation with another golfing pair. The heated exchange seemed to center around Warrington’s group frustrated with the delay in play and it devolved into Warrington hurling expletives and a racial slur on camera.
After the video went public, Bruce Moffatt, Managing Partner of Terra Cotta, identified Warrington as being the offender and publicly announced, “There is never an excuse to utter racial slurs and we will not tolerate this behaviour.”
Warrington served as the firm’s chief financial officer.
Terra Cotta proceeded to confirm, to the public, that it had ended its contract of employment with Warrington
Now and forever more, every Google search of the ex-CFO’s name will be emblazoned with this incident. His chances of reemployment with this social media stain on his track record is questionable.
Of course, this is a stark reminder of the silver lining that social media provides to the masses; it can bring about social change in an instant. Tied to that of course is suffering the immediate consequences of one’s poor behavior.
Not only did Warrington lose his job he is now being tarred and feathered by both the online and broader community and it will likely be some time before he can come up for air.
While this story confirms the age-old adage that we wear our employee identities everywhere, even on the golf course, it is more aptly marked as a timely example of the next movement in the world of employment — the racial #metoo.
While it is the third anniversary of #metoo this week, I can’t help but wonder if a new form of executive C-suite reckoning is burgeoning in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement that continues to gain momentum.
Warrington isn’t the first executive to get axed for racist remarks. The Richards Group just yesterday was dropped by its marquis clients Motel 6 and Home Depot after its founder called a possible Motel 6 ad “too Black” for the motel chain’s “white supremacist constituents.” Earlier this year the CEO of Agroplasma, Hans Berglund, was terminated after a video of him went public calling a Black Uber driver a racial slur.
This is just a sampling of the many organizations sanitizing their higher ranks from all white, all male leadership. More than that, some are taking a scalpel to members of leadership that continue to hold onto views that were once “politically incorrect” and now viewed as flatly racist.
As in the case of Warrington, organizations won’t take a chance on even C-suite executives harbouring dated views on race and gender norms. If you happen to be one, evolve or face certain peril.
On to your questions from the week:
Q. If you quit you should never be entitled to anything. Your article last week promoted a case where an employee got paid a bonus after quitting. How is that okay for employers who are struggling to survive during COVID? The economy can never recover if you are actually suggesting that decision is right.
A. While employers are struggling, let’s not forget how many employees are struggling with unemployment and layoffs. While the Supreme Court released this decision during COVID, it dealt with an employee’s entitlements pre-COVID. That said, it acts as good reminder to employers that employees are entitled to full freight if found to be dismissed; not just for salary, but eligible bonuses too.
Q. I have an employee who says she does not want to come back to work because she lives with her boyfriend’s parents who are over 60 and they are very uncomfortable with her taking the GO train. She would prefer to work from home. Do we have to say yes?
A: No. If you haven’t already accommodated her working from home, ask her to attend work like normal. It’s a good idea to reinforce that your workplace is safe and the steps your workplace has taken to meet COVID safety measures. If your employee is seeking a leave under the Infectious Disease Emergency Leave, then she will have to establish she is a caregiver for someone who has COVID or an infectious disease to qualify. Even then, that would qualify her for a job protected unpaid leave, not a work from home arrangement.
Send your workplace questions to schaudhri@levittllp.com and your question may be featured in a future column.