Employers: Lessons to be Learned From Ellen Degeneres
Social media has been lighting up in recent weeks with stories about life behind the scenes on the Emmy Award-Winning talk show, “Ellen.”
The tales range from stories of rude behavior, to hostile working conditions, racism and sexual harassment. Despite her squeaky clean image as America’s fun-loving, dancing talk show host, current and former staffers report a workplace that is anything but fun-loving.
For her part, DeGeneres, who has hosted the show since 2003, has claimed to be largely unaware of what was happening on set. In a written statement, she said: “As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t.”
That brings us to the important legal question at the center of this story that all employers should consider: Is, “I didn’t know what was happening” a legitimate defense in the face of claims of workplace misconduct? The short answer is, no.