👩⚖️ LAWSUITS

Putting The Mouse In A Suit

In early 2021, actress Gina Carano was fired from her role on Disney+’s hit The Mandalorian over a series of controversial social media posts. Now, the actress is suing The Walt Disney Company over a wrongful termination claim.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Carano began tweeting and posting anti-masking and anti-vaccination messages during the COVID pandemic, as well as anti-Black Lives Matter and Trans Rights messages, then supported Donald Trump's claim of a rigged 2020 election, and eventually, in February 2021, posted "a photo of a terrified Jewish woman being chased by a boy holding a bat during the Holocaust."

With that, public backlash began along with the #FireGinaCarano campaign. Carano's talent agency and law firm both dropped her. Disney seems to have agreed, as she was fired from the show shortly after.

But now, Carano is leveraging an obscure California labor code called Section 1101 to sue the entertainment giant. Section 1101 blocks employers from creating rules “forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics or from becoming candidates for public office” or “controlling or directing, or tending to control or direct the political activities or affiliations of employees.”

“No one really focuses on protecting political activities without employer interference, and it really is a reflection of California’s extensive employee rights,” Natalie Pierce, head of Gunderson Dettmer’s employment and labor practice, told LegalDive.

Meanwhile, Tom Spiggle of The Spiggle Law Firm, added that scant precedent stands on the code. “Employers don’t want to get into this; they’re not watching where you go,” he continued. “We’ve never had somebody walk into our office, say they went to this event and were fired.”

The Musk Factor

Funding Carano's suit against the Mouse is Elon Musk. In August of last year, Musk posted to X that "if you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform” he would pay the legal bills.

Seems Carano took him up on that offer. As CNBC reports, the actress posted to X, “I would like to express my deepest gratitude & thank you to @ElonMusk & @X for giving me an opportunity to bring my case to light."

THE VERDICT:

Seemed a matter of time until this corner of California employment law was explored. Musk, Carano, and Disney definitely make a high-profile trio to add to the case law. What's more, it stands to reason that many more celebrities will begin to voice their political beliefs depending on how the verdict lands.

❤️ COMPANY CULTURE

General Counsel Can Build A General Culture

Integrity starts at the top.

That's the message Rob Chesnut, General Counsel for Airbnb, wants to share. “Everyone looks up to the person who’s been successful in business, in their career, so if a leader acts with integrity, that permeates the culture," he told LegalDive before adding, "the way a leader talks and behaves creates a climate that everybody in the company is living in and is affected by. So, it’s not just about you; it’s also about the people around you.”

According to Chesnut, whether it be social movements (like MeToo or Black Lives Matter) or simply a company doing whatever it takes to chase a goal, company culture is vital to how a firm views and evolves itself. Of course, the company culture, begins with the executive team, and the general counsel can play a huge part in shaping things.

Speaking about the MeToo movement and how he helped eBay's executives, Chesnut describes how he sat them all down and made them commit in front of one another how they would not behave in a way that could even be construed as harassment. “We had a discussion about it and I said, perhaps in light of all that is happening, why don’t we agree we’re just not going to go there?” Chesnut continues. “We went around the room and everybody said, ‘I’m in.’ The significance of that is, if no one ever talks about it, it’s easy to rationalize and fall into it. Everybody in that room understood that if they went that way now, they were violating their word to the rest of the team, which means they were probably going to have to leave the company.”

Ultimately, creating a workplace with integrity means instilling the executives with the idea and getting ahead of any temptations. "It could be financial irregularities or sexual misconduct, because these kinds of matters can be career altering and potentially brand altering.  As a lawyer, I saw it as my responsibility to protect against that risk," said Chesnut. “We’ve all made mistakes, done things that are wrong. …It’s just having an honest conversation about the temptations to do things that are wrong. If it takes 30 minutes here and there, or takes a conversation at an executive committee meeting, you can insulate your company a little bit.”

THE VERDICT:

Nothing can derail a firm as quickly as poor company culture or a rotten executive suite. As Chesnut advises, aligning the leadership team around integrity can insult you against scandal and risk down the line.