Here’s ‘how much worse’ Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot’s Coldplay scandal could be: lawyers
The Coldplay kiss cam moment that accidentally uncovered a potential cheating scandal between a married tech firm CEO and his head of human resources could be the beginning of a professional downfall for the canoodling duo — and their company, employment lawyers suggested.
On Wednesday evening, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his human resources chief, Kristin Cabot, were singled out in a crowd of 55,000 during Coldplay’s concert at Gillette Stadium near Boston during a segment in which lead singer Chris Martin would create impromptu ditties to sing with the chosen targets.
Neither the married Byron nor the divorced Cabot has spoken out about the sordid scandal — which is only complicated by her standing as the head of HR, the department that would typically handle and oversee romantic relationships in the workplace.
“It’s horrible because she is the head of HR! She’s involved in an extramarital affair with the CEO. Basically, how much worse of an HR faux pas could you commit?” employment lawyer William Cafaro, co-counsel at Big Apple-based Buzin Law, told The Post Thursday night.
“The only way it could be worse is if the head of HR was having an affair with someone who worked for her. That’s the only permutation I could think of that could be worse — but this is pretty high up there.”
Byron and Cabot, who both have families of their own, were cozied up against the railing overlooking Gillette Stadium when the camera panned to them during the show.
What should have been a sweet moment spun out of control as Martin quipped, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
Online sleuths quickly identified the duo overnight, and by morning, their faces were all over social media.
With Byron heading the company, any action against him, including possible removal if he violated company policies in his supposed relationship with Cabot, would be left up to the five other members on the board of directors.
Her fate, though, may already be sealed.
“I would say she’s just about certain to be removed from her position, because how can you have someone in HR who is having an affair with the CEO imposing or making disciplinary decisions over any other employees. That’s ludicrous,” Cafaro said.
Other parts are still uncertain and largely depend on Astronomer’s codes of ethics and rules, including its fraternization policies, said Helen Rella, who does employment litigation for Wilk Auslander.
“As I tell my own clients, your friends today could be your enemy tomorrow. You never know when an employment issue could arise where somebody might be subject for termination or for disciplinary action,” she explained.
“And when there’s an instance where somebody in a supervisory position is involved with somebody underneath them, there could potentially be a claim that they were being targeted. Not that that’s true, but that’s one avenue of potential exposure for the company.”
It’s unclear if the Coldplay outing was organized by Astronomer, which could breed further complications falling under its lawfulness as an after-work activity under Massachusetts code, Rella added.
