Top JPMorgan DEI Executive Identified And Fired In NYC Trash Can Viral Video
Authored by Jonathan Turley via jonathanturley.org,
The viral video of a woman stealing a trash can and dumping its contents after the Knicks' victory has led to her termination. Angie Baez, 40, was the "Executive Director of Community and Industry Engagement for Card and Connected Commerce" for JPMorgan Chase.
She was shown in a video dumping trash on the ground to steal a Knicks-colored trash can after the NBA Finals. JPMorgan apparently concluded that this was neither the publicity nor the type of Community Engagement they are seeking.
The videotape of the incident shocked many by Baez's cavalier attitude, not just in stealing the trash can but in dumping out the garbage.
The New York Post later reported that the woman had been identified as Angie Baez. She previously served as "Executive Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" at The Infatuation, a website that reviews restaurants and neighborhood activities.
Once she was identified, JPMorgan Chase issued a statement, "This employee is no longer with the company."
We have often discussed the difficult questions surrounding the termination of employees for speech in their private lives that is considered harmful to an employer. Whether it is conduct or speech, private companies often reserve the right to terminate any employee who brings negative attention to the company, even when they do not reference or display an association with the company. In today's web-savvy world, it does not take long for motivated individuals to learn the identity and associations of public figures.
We have seen companies fire employees for drunken displays and abusing others in viral videotapes. There is little recourse in such cases, particularly for at-will employees.
In the case of Baez, she falls into the same category as Adam Smith (not the economist), who made a fool out of himself at a Chick-fil-A.
Ultimately, Baez was not even allowed to keep the trash can. She was also given a $75 fine for littering and a $100 fine for impeding Department of Sanitation operations. That proved to be an expensive memento for the Knicks victory.