JPMorgan scandal a reminder that allegations are not facts, social media critics are not juries

The JPMorgan Chase & Co. headquarters in New York, U.S. Photo by Michael Nagle/Bloomberg files

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The JPMorgan scandal involving allegations by a former senior vice-president, Chirayu Rana, against a former executive director, Lorna Hajdini, is now a tabloid spectacle: lurid accusations, denials, leaked details, lawsuits launched, withdrawn and refiled, and social media juries rendering verdicts in real time.

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Beneath the sensationalism, however, lies an important issue for Canadian employers and employees alike.

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Every day, allegations of workplace harassment, bullying, discrimination, retaliation and misconduct are made across this country. Few attract headlines. Yet for the individuals involved, the consequences are invariably devastating.

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Careers are destroyed. Reputations permanently stained. Employers face enormous legal exposure. And, increasingly, mere allegation is treated as proof.

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That is dangerous.

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None of us yet know what truly happened at JPMorgan. Rana alleges Hajdini used her power over his compensation and job security to coerce him into a degrading sexual relationship. Hajdini categorically denied the allegations.

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JPMorgan says it conducted an internal investigation and found the claims unsubstantiated, noting that Rana declined to participate in the process. Rana’s lawsuit was withdrawn, then refiled with even more allegations.

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The courts — not TikTok or LinkedIn — will ultimately determine the facts, if it ever gets to that. Often the damage is already done in the media and evident in the internal morale at the company, making any court decision anti-climactic and too late.

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But the public reaction illustrates how quickly workplace allegations spiral out of control before any proper investigation occurs.

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Employers today face immense pressure to react immediately whenever allegations arise. Many fear that caution will be interpreted as indifference or complicity. That fear leads to catastrophic mistakes.

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Employers have a duty to take allegations seriously. If an employee reports harassment or misconduct, the employer must investigate.

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But “taking it seriously” does not mean starting from the premise of guilt, suspending employees without evidence or launching a performative witch hunt designed to appease public opinion.

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Nor does every complaint require an outside investigator and a six-month, quasi-criminal process. Few (if any) do, and such undertakings usually do far more harm than good to the organization, throwing it into chaos, with ungrounded suspicions all around. Few investigated employees ever return truly innocent.

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The proper first step is usually a measured internal fact-finding exercise: interview the relevant individuals, preserve evidence, assess credibility and determine whether the allegations warrant a broader investigation. This should take two or three days. Employers who jump prematurely to conclusions expose themselves to enormous liability from both sides.