An article authored by Constangy senior counsel, Christopher Deubert, was recently published by Salary.com. The article, originally published in Constangy's Labor & Employment Insider blog, details OpenAI's recent CEO drama and what employers can learn from it.
On November 17th, OpenAI announced that the company was parting ways with CEO, Sam Altman. In the following days, Microsoft announced that they were hiring Altman to lead its new AI research team, over 90% of OpenAI's employees signed a letter threatening to resign if Altman were not reinstated as CEO, and Salesforce offered to hire any OpenAI researchers who wished to resign. Facing this backlash, OpenAI quickly reversed its decision, agreeing to Altman's return as CEO and the departure of the board that ousted him.
This high-profile incident offers valuable lessons for employers, including the importance of understanding employee sentiments, respecting employees' leverage in the job market, and being aware of relevant labor laws, particularly in California where non-compete clauses are prohibited.
Read the full article on Salary.com.