Here is why Kristin Cabot, Astronomer HR chief is unlikely to be fired as labor lawyers explain the ramifications of attempting to fire the disgraced personnel officer after her extramarital affair with married CEO boss, Andy Byron going public following a Coldplay video going viral
While it may seem ‘morally’ the right choice to fire the Astronomer HR chief caught ‘canoodling’ with recently ousted CEO Andy Byron, saying goodbye to Kristin Cabot might not be as easy as some might imagine with the software tech company even ripe for litigation should they attempt to fire Cabot.
Since last week’s public debacle when Cabot, 52, and Byron, 50, both married to other individuals, were caught openly intimately engaging each other at a Coldplay concert, fallout was swift, with Astronomer announcing an internal investigation days later after ‘kiss-cam’ video of their ‘intimacies’ was seen millions of times, the world over.
Can a company fire an employee over ugly tabloid headlines?
Not a day passed when Byron in turn tended his resignation (most likely he was advised it would be in the best interest of the company if he left following the public debacle) – while Astronomer’s HR chief has gone on leave as lawyers for all parties involved are now likely negotiating what happens next.
It would be right to suggest, it now remained unclear how the tech company would handle its employment contract with Cabot. Welcome lawyers who will be advising the outlet how to proceed, should they risk a lawsuit from the disgraced HR chief for wrongful termination.
Ugly tabloid headlines aside, ‘it’s not easy to dump employees just because their behavior outside of the office brought shame or unwanted focus on the employer.
‘In a real-world big company, you can’t just fire someone because the headlines are ugly,’ said attorney Nicole Brenecki told the nypost.
‘There are likely contracts, internal investigations, and legal issues involved,’ the attorney said.
Cabot’s fate is likely to remain murky for the foreseeable future, as she is wanton to angle for an ‘agreeable’ severance package should she be asked to leave her HR chief post, following her November, 2024 employment.
Astronomer HR chief future likely to remain murky as lawyers negotiate
Added Brenecki, ‘If HR greenlit what happened with Coldplay, and there is a supporting paper trail, heads will likely roll. It just might take a few more days before the axe drops.’
In the meantime, Pete DeJoy, the company’s cofounder has taken over Byrons’ role as CEO, with DeJoy posting in a recent LinkedIn post the immense attention ‘has been unusual and surreal for Astronomer workers.
‘While I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name,’ DeJoy said.
Perhaps, but not necessarily for the right reasons. Will it translate into more business? Or will that depend if the tech company can get Kristin Cabot to quietly go, perhaps with a nice cushion payment to make her exit more palatable…. or will she choose to fight and insist on staying?
