Ernst & Young has fired a group of U.S.-based employees for taking part in two online training sessions at the same time, saying it took disciplinary action against workers found to have broken the consultancy’s ethical rules.
The British multinational accounting firm axed certain U.S. workers after determining they had taken more than one online course simultanously during its “EY Ignite Learning Week” in May, according to a report published by the Financial Times.
Some of the terminated workers told the newspaper the punishment was overly harsh as they did not realize they were breaking company policies by signing up for several classes at once. Others defended their behavior as in line with the company’s “culture of multitasking,” noting that some work with three monitors.
Still, their arguments did not sway the higher-ups.
“At EY, our core values of integrity and ethics are at the forefront of everything we do. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken on any violation of our Code of Conduct and/or US Learning Policy,” a spokesperson stated. “EY US has terminated individuals who, after thorough investigation, were found to have violated our Global Code of Conduct and US Learning Policy.”
The firings follow staff getting shown the door last week at Meta, which according to multiple reports let some workers in Las Angeles go for using food vouchers to instead purchase products such as acne pads and wine glasses.
“We are not commenting on the terminations around meal credits,” a spokesperson for Meta told CBS MoneyWatch.
Kate Gibson
Kate Gibson is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch in New York, where she covers business and consumer finance.
