CBS LOSES Big – $10M Payout for “Woke” FIRING!
CBS just got slapped with a $10 million bill for firing an executive to appease the woke mob before actually proving he did anything wrong.
At a Glance
- CBS must pay former TV stations president Peter Dunn nearly $10 million after improperly changing his termination from “without cause” to “for cause” after the fact
- Dunn was initially suspended then fired following anonymous allegations of racist, sexist, and homophobic comments in a 2021 newspaper article
- An arbitration panel ruled CBS violated Dunn’s employment contract by retroactively changing the reason for his termination after completing their investigation
- Dunn’s attorney argues CBS caved to “woke mob” pressure rather than following proper procedures
- Despite losing the case, CBS maintains their decision was justified based on a third-party investigation
Another Corporate Rush to Judgment Backfires
In a stinging rebuke to corporate America’s knee-jerk reactions to social media outrage, CBS has been ordered to pay nearly $10 million to former television stations president Peter Dunn after bungling his termination in spectacular fashion. The case exposes what happens when companies prioritize appeasing the Twitter mob over following their own employment contracts and due process. An arbitration panel determined that CBS violated Dunn’s employment agreement when they fired him without cause in 2021, then conveniently changed their minds after completing an investigation, attempting to retroactively label the termination as “for cause” to avoid paying him.
Ready, Fire, Aim: How CBS Shot Itself in the Foot
The saga began when anonymous allegations surfaced in a 2021 newspaper article claiming Dunn had created a hostile work environment with racist, sexist, and homophobic comments. CBS, apparently terrified of being on the wrong side of a trending Twitter hashtag, immediately suspended Dunn and another executive. Without waiting for their own investigation to conclude, they terminated Dunn’s employment – critically, without specifically citing misconduct as the reason. This hasty decision would come back to haunt them in spectacular fashion when an arbitration panel ruled that CBS couldn’t simply change the termination reason after the fact to avoid paying what they contractually owed.
According to Dunn’s attorney, CBS should have completed their investigation before making any termination decisions. “They should have, at a minimum, waited for the investigation to conclude before taking action against Mr. Dunn,” his lawyer stated. Instead, the network apparently buckled under pressure from “woke” critics, rushing to judgment before having all the facts. It’s a classic example of the new corporate playbook: sacrifice individuals at the altar of public opinion first, ask questions later – just don’t expect to avoid the bill when your hasty judgment violates employment law.
The $10 Million Lesson in Employment Law
Despite CBS’s appeal of the initial arbitration decision, the ruling was ultimately confirmed, leaving the network on the hook for a cool $9.78 million. The penalty underscores a fundamental principle that seems increasingly forgotten in today’s rush-to-judgment corporate culture: employment contracts actually matter, regardless of public pressure or social media outrage. CBS’s failed attempt to retroactively change the termination from “without cause” to “for cause” represents a textbook case of corporate overreach that the arbitration panel wasn’t having any of.
CBS, naturally, continues to defend its actions, stating that the termination decision “was based on an independent, third-party investigation and subsequently led to important cultural changes at CBS.” Translation: “We still think we did the right thing, we just didn’t want to pay for it.” What’s conspicuously missing from their statement is any acknowledgment that proper procedures matter, or that perhaps completing an investigation before terminating an executive might have been the prudent course of action. This is the corporate equivalent of a child touching a hot stove, getting burned, and then insisting they were right to touch it.
The Broader Warning for Corporate America
The Dunn case serves as a costly warning to corporations increasingly caught between Twitter mobs demanding immediate action and the legal realities of employment contracts. In their rush to demonstrate how virtuous and responsive they are to public criticism, companies frequently forget the fundamental legal principles that govern employment relationships. For every executive thrown under the bus to appease the outrage machine, there’s a potential lawsuit waiting if proper procedures aren’t followed. CBS just learned this lesson to the tune of $10 million – a steep price for virtue signaling that violated a binding contract.
What’s truly remarkable is how predictable this outcome was. Any first-year law student could tell you that retroactively changing the reason for termination after the fact violates basic contract principles. Yet somehow, a major corporation with armies of lawyers thought they could simply rewrite history because it was convenient. This case isn’t just about one executive or one network – it’s about the dangerous corporate tendency to allow public opinion to override established legal procedures. As this expensive lesson demonstrates, the court of public opinion doesn’t supersede actual courts when it comes to enforcing contracts.
