Tuesday, December 18, 2018

CBS denies Les Moonves every penny of his claimed $120 million severance

Today is your last day to vote for the Worst Employer of 2018. The polls close at 11:00 pm tonight. I'll announce this year's big winner tomorrow.


Before we crown this year's worst employer, I thought I'd mention an employer who did something right.

CBS.

Yesterday, it announced that fired and disgraced CEO Les Moonves will not receive a single penny of $120 million severance pay his employment agreement calls for.

In a statement, CBS explains it's perfectly reasonable rationale:

With regard to Mr. Moonves, we have determined that there are grounds to terminate for cause, including his willful and material misfeasance, violation of Company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the Company's investigation.

According to the New York Times, Moonves not only had received oral sex from at least four CBS employees under circumstances described as "improper," but he also destroyed evidence and misled investigators. Indeed, one CBS employees was "on call" to perform oral sex on Moonves. Sounds like a "for cause" termination to me.

Now buckle up for the inevitable litigation. $120 million is a lot of money to walk away from, and, at this point, it's not like Moonves' reputation is going to get any worse by litigating the underlying conduct that caused his termination.