An Exchange with DataCamp

I haven’t spoken publicly about my experience with DataCamp out of respect for Kara Woo’s privacy. Now that she has so bravely come forward, I can say that after I was fired in June 2018, DataCamp offered me the equivalent of a month’s pay if I would sign a separation agreement that included a non-disparagement clause. In the exchange of email that followed I asked on June 22, 2018 for:

A statement saying that the non-disparagement clause does not preclude me from speaking publicly about incidents of sexual harassment and/or sexual assault that occurred during my time at DataCamp if the victim or victims should choose to speak publicly about them.

The company responded on July 2 with:

I can’t say whether or not the non-disparagement clause would apply without the specifics (content, details). It would depend on the circumstances and forum. In any case, nothing limits non-disparagement and it would be at your own peril.

When I replied on July 4 that I was referring specifically to the assault on Kara by a senior company executive, the company’s response on July 6 was:

Regarding your general question about the application of the non-disparagement provision to you speaking publicly about allegations of sexual harassment and/or sexual assault brought by other people, unless otherwise required by law, the non-disparagement provision would prohibit such public statements [emphasis added]. That said, the Company takes all concerns about potential sexual harassment and/or sexual assault seriously.

I felt that the first statement gave the lie to the second, so I declined the agreement and ended the exchange there.

Please also see this post by my friend and colleague Dhavide Aruliah, who was fired the same day as me, this tweet and post for more on DataCamp’s attempt to bury their belated acknowledgment of the assault, and my post from ten days ago.

Update: please also see this well-researched article by Buzzfeed’s Davey Alba.