US: EY fires employees for attending 2 training sessions simultaneously
What's the story
EY, one of the top accounting and auditing firms, has fired a number of US employees for attending two online training sessions at the same time.
According to the Financial Times, the dismissals took place during the company's 'Ignite Learning Week' this May.
EY mandates its employees to attend such courses and earn a certain number of continuing education credits, as part of their annual professional development.
Employee perspective
Dismissed employees deny misconduct allegations
The dismissed employees have denied the allegation that they were trying to earn credits faster by attending two sessions at once.
They said their intention was not to miss any simultaneous sessions due to their interest in multiple topics.
The former EY employees also said the company had not explicitly prohibited attending more than one meeting at a time, and argued that EY encourages a culture of multitasking.
Company stance
EY defends action as adherence to code of conduct
In response to the employees' claims, EY said their actions violated the company's code of conduct.
"Our core values of integrity and ethics are at the forefront of everything we do," EY said in a statement.
The firm further clarified, "Appropriate disciplinary action was recently taken in a small number of cases where individuals were found to be in violation of our global code of conduct and US learning policy."
Past incidents
Past penalties and updated policy
In 2022, EY was fined $100 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after some employees were caught cheating on ethics exams required for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licenses.
The company was also accused of withholding evidence during the SEC's investigation.
After these incidents, EY has reportedly revised its guidelines for future 'Ignite Learning Week' events, stating that employees should attend only one class at a time.