Page 10 - BusinessWest December 22, 2021

Thinking About Better.com
This Debacle Is a Perfect Example of How Not to Do Things
By John Gannon
Afew weeks ago, about 900 employees working at Better.com were asked to simultaneously attend a virtual Zoom meeting. They were probably expecting information about updated company poli- cies or perhaps some sort of holiday bonus. Instead, Better.com CEO Vishal Garg notified all attendees during the three-minute video call that their employment was terminated “effective immediately.”
Apparently, Better.com, which is a popu-
lar online mortgage-lending service, claimed that hundreds of the employees who were let go had been “stealing” from the company by working remotely only a few hours a day. After videos of the termination meeting surfaced on social media, Garg faced significant criticism for his seemingly crass and heartless actions during the holiday season. He subsequently apologized, saying he “failed to show the appro- priate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better.” He then took a leave of absence from work.
There is a lot to unpack here from an employment-law perspective. For starters, was there anything unlawful about Better.com’s actions? Coldness aside, the answer is no,
work their expected hours in a day, week, or month, while being paid their full salaries at
the same time. This is not stealing. Instead,
it sounds more like a performance and time- management problem that should be addressed by managers and supervisors. If there is a sig- nificant gap between expected and actual hours worked, this could be a problem that warrants
assuming none of the more than 900 employees were let go for discriminatory reasons, such as age, race, or taking medical leave (just to name a few). However, given the media spotlight on Better.com right now, I would not be surprised if at least a few of those fired employees brought lawsuits contending they were let go for unlaw- ful reasons.
“
was not doing an effective job monitoring and motivating their remote workforce. This can cer- tainly be a challenge when employees are home in their pajamas instead of in the office.”
Let’s move on to the suspected stealing — can you fire employees who steal from you? That’s an easy one. Of course you can. But were these folks stealing by working less than an expected eight-hour day while at home? I don’t think they were. Employees often fail to
discipline or even termination from employ- ment if particularly severe. But it should not be labeled or viewed as company theft.
The bigger issue here seems to be that Better. com was not doing an effective job monitoring and motivating their remote workforce. This can
The bigger issue here seems to be that Better.com
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