Information technology outsourcing company iGate has fired its Chief Executive Phaneesh Murthy for not disclosing a relationship with a subordinate, after investigating him for sexual harassment. He was forced to quit India’s second biggest software services exporter Infosys Ltd in 2002 following a sexual harassment lawsuit, which was settled out of court, reports Reuters.
Here are a few reported cases where senior executives have got into trouble for sexual harassment and wrongful conduct over workplace relationships:
Pradeep Srivastava: Srivastava, who was the chief marketing officer of Idea Cellular left the company in 2010 after he was accused of sexual harassment by a female colleague 25 years his junior. Srivastava did not reply to the charges when media asked him at that time.
David Davidar: The head of Penguin in Canada was asked to leave the company after a $523,000 lawsuit was filed by Lisa Rundle, former Rights and Contracts director of Penguin Canada in June 2010. She claimed $423,000 in damages from Penguin for wrongful dismissal and $100,000 from the company. The case was later settled out of court.
C. Venkatramana: In 2004, the Chairman and Managing Director of Nalco, C Venkatramana surrendered before the Mumbai police after he was accused of sexually harassing a subordinate. A woman filed a case before the police alleging that Venkatramana and another manager of the company sought sexual favours from her in order to giver her a promotion. The CMD was suspended and the case is still pending.
Mark Hurd: In June 2010, Hewlett-Packard Co. ousted its CEO, Hurd, for allegedly falsifying documents to conceal a relationship with a former contractor and help her get paid for work she didn’t do. Hurd was sacked after the employee sent a letter to the top officials.
