Uber CEO Travis Kalanick To Take Leave Of Absence, Report On Company Culture Released

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Uber employees were presented Tuesday with the findings and recommendations of a much-awaited report into the company's workplace culture and the steps that the embattled ride-hailing company would be taking to correct that culture. Separate from the report, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will be taking a leave of absence from the company.

The New York Times and several other news outlets report that Kalanick will be taking a leave of absence from the company, citing an internal email sent to employees.

The length of the leave is not clear. The report on Uber and its workplace culture, which included allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation, was released by former Attorney General Eric Holder, who now works at the law firm Covington & Burling. On Sunday, Uber's board unanimously approved that the company adopt the recommendations presented in the report.

Last week, Uber fired 20 employees as part of the probe into workplace culture. A law firm looking into 215 human resources claims took no action in 100 of the cases, sent 31 employees into counseling and gave seven employees final warnings. The firm is still investigating 57 of the cases. That investigation was separate of the much awaited Holder report.

While a number of high-profile executives had left the company in wake of allegations about the company culture, it was unclear how the investigation would affect Kalanick. On Sunday, the Times reported that Uber's board was weighing a three-month leave of absence for Kalanick.

In the 13-page report, the first recommendation made by Holder and his team is changes to the senior leadership team at Uber, including reviewing and reallocating Kalanick's responsibilities.

"The Board should evaluate the extent to which some of the responsibilities that Mr.Kalanick has historically possessed should be shared or given outright to other members of senior management," the report says. "The search for a Chief Operating Officer should address this concern to some extent."

The report also recommends that Uber increase the profile of the company's head of diversity.

Addressing the culture at Uber, the report recommends that the company reformulate its 14 cultural values and adopt values that are more inclusive and contribute to a collaborative work environment. The report recommends reducing the overall number of values and eliminate values that justify poor behavior, such as "Let Builders Build," "Always Be Hustlin,'" "Mertiocracy and Toe-Stepping," and "Principled Confrontation."

The investigation comes after a former employee at Uber, Susan Fowler, wrote a widely shared blog post detailing claims of sexual harassment and retaliation while she worked at the company. Fowler's blog post described a loose culture at the company and one that did nothing to address concerns that Fowler and other women at the company shared. Fowler says she reported a manager who made sexual advances towards her and was told that it was the manager's "first offense," however she later learned that long before she started at the company, other women had reported that same manager.

In her account, Fowler also said that internal politics eroded any organization at the company. According to Fowler, sexism at the company led women to transfer out of the organization she was part of or quit the company altogether.

With regards to complaints of harassment, discrimination and retaliation, the report recommends that there be an effective complaint process and that complaints be properly tracked.

The report pays great importance to how the company can improve diversity at the company, including adopting the "Rooney Rule," that requires for any key position, the pool of candidates being interviewed include at least one woman and one member of an underrepresented minority group. The report also recommends that Uber prohibit "romantic relationships" between individuals in a reporting relationship and that the company limit the use of alcohol and strictly prohibit the use of illegal drugs.

In a statement, Uber said it was committed to rebuilding trust with employees, riders and drivers.

While the company has stated through official channels that it is committed to doing away with sexism and changing the workplace culture, a report from Recode says that at an all-hands meeting for employees discussing sexism, board member David Bonderman made a sexist comment towards fellow board member Arianna Huffington.

According to Recode, Huffington was talking about data that shows if one woman is on a company board, it was much more likely that there would be a second woman on the board. Bonderman's response to that comment, according to Recode, was “Actually, what is shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking.”

He issued an apology for his comments and soon after announced his resignation from the company's board, the New York Times reported.

You can read the full report here.

Patch will update this report. Refresh this page for updates.

Watch Uber Loses Top Executive As Its CEO Ponders A Leave Of Absence

Image: Uber CEO Travis Kalanick by Adam Tinworth used under Flickr Creative Commons