NewsDomenique Camacho Moran, a partner at the New York-based law firm Farrell Fritz, said the timing of Zucker’s resignation wouldn’t be unusual if Chris Cuomo is pursuing litigation against CNN. It also wouldn’t be unusual if internal investigations related to Cuomo’s role might uncover other possible issues, especially with potential litigation at stake, she said.
“The disclosure and the timing of the disclosure is certainly intertwined with [Cuomo’s] claim that he should get severance,” Moran said Thursday. Zucker told CNN staffers last year that Cuomo wouldn’t get severance from the company.
Regardless of the questions of litigation, which the company isn’t required to answer, Zucker’s failure to disclose his relationship was a violation of company policy, Moran noted — a policy that exists to give the company a chance to assess potential conflicts of interest and other possible concerns about power dynamics.
“It’s the law surrounding sexual harassment and how to create a workplace free from sexual harassment that drives employers to adopt rules regarding relationships … and when you have someone at the very top of an organization, there’s no question that is a powerful position,” Moran said.
Read the full article on NBC News here:
Experts say CNN’s Zucker broke a fundamental company rule (nbcnews.com)
