01-26-2021
GitHub is a Microsoft-owned code share site for software developers. On January 6, the day of the insurrection in Washington D.C., a Jewish employee warned co-workers to “stay safe homies, Nazis are about.” Another employee found the “Nazi” reference offensive and reported it. Two days later, GitHub’s head of human resources fired the Jewish employee. In speaking to a media outlet, this employee said the company fired him for purportedly engaging in a “pattern of behavior that is not conducive to company policy.”
This termination led 200 other GitHub employees to create an open letter asking management to explain the employee’s termination. These workers started using the word “Nazi” in their Slack channel as a means of protest. One employee wrote, “100% Nazis were there, and 1000000000% Nazis are scary as f—k and do not belong anywhere. PARTICULARLY AT Github.”
Github initiated an independent company investigation following the incident and the employees’ letter. That investigation revealed “significant errors of judgment and procedure” in the termination of this employee. In response, the head of HR resigned from the company. GitHub issued a public apology to the employee and is looking to rehire him. GitHub’s CEO acknowledged that the group in the Capitol included “Nazis and white supremacists.” GitHub publicly let employees know they are free to discuss concerns about “Nazis, antisemitism, white supremacy or any other form of discrimination or harassment in internal discussions.” News outlets withheld the Jewish employee’s identity out of concern for his safety.