Gubernatorial nominee Meg Whitman (R-CA) reportedly shoved one of her eBay employees and later resolved the matter with the help of a private mediation attorney, a confidentiality agreement and “around $200,000.”
The New York Times is reporting about a June 2007 incident in which an eBay employee claimed that Whitman “became angry and forcefully pushed her in an executive conference room at eBay’s headquarters.”
Citing several anonymous former employees, the Times detailed a dust-up between Whitman and Young Mi Kim, who was helping the executive prepared for an interview. According to the Times — and not disputed by Whitman’s campaign — Kim “told at least one colleague that Ms. Whitman used an expletive and shoved her.”
Whitman, who won the GOP primary last week, has made her leadership role as eBay’s chief executive officer central to her campaign. She will face Attorney General Jerry Brown (D) in November.
From the Times’ story:
Ms. Whitman was counseled in the matter, the former eBay employees said, by the company’s human resources lawyers and by Henry Gomez, then president of the Skype unit at eBay and now a senior adviser to Ms. Whitman’s campaign.
Ms. Kim still works at eBay and is now a senior manager for corporate and executive communications. At the time of the incident, she had recently joined eBay from the Gap. She left the company for about four months, returning to work in October 2007 after the matter was resolved.
When reached by telephone on Monday, Ms. Kim said the issue was a “private matter” and declined to comment. Later, in an e-mail message, Ms. Kim said she and Ms. Whitman had overcome their differences.
“Yes, we had an unfortunate incident, but we resolved it in a way that speaks well for her and for eBay,” Ms. Kim said. “And ultimately, I came back to the company, which is not something I had to do.”
…
[Other eBay employees] say Ms. Whitman was demanding and would often express sharp bursts of anger toward employees whose work or preparation she found lacking. But they knew of no other similar accusations.
Read the full story here.
Team Whitman issued a statement from the candidate calling the matter a “professional disagreement.”
“In any high-pressure working environment, tensions can surface,” Whitman said. “She was a respected colleague and valuable asset to the company. I’m glad she’s still contributing to eBay’s success.”
Political hands familiar with the campaign dismissed the incident as something that can happen during stressful periods in the work place, and believe the Times’ reporting won’t harm the campaign. A spokeswoman called Whitman a “serious, results-focused boss.” Team Whitman pointed to eBay’s 2008 ranking on Fortune’s Top 100 Best Places To Work list. Whitman also was one of Forbes’ “Best Bosses” in 2007.
