According to the Los Angeles Times, a judge has ruled that a confidential letter sent by the attorney of a former Hewlett-Packard marketing contractor accusing former HP CEO Mark Hurd of sexual harassment can be unsealed. Hurd abruptly resigned as CEO after the allegations of sexual harassment were made last year.
HP investigated Hurd and said that they did not find that Hurd had violated the company’s sexual harassment policy. According to the Los Angeles Times, however, the company did find that Hurd had submitted expense reports with errors that were meant to cover-up the “close, personal relationship” that Hurd had with the contractor.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Hurd’s attorneys plan to appeal the ruling and argue that the letter was meant to stay confidential. His attorneys say that the letter is filled with errors that have since been acknowledged. Hurd and his attorneys also say that the issue has already been resolved and Hurd has moved on with his life. Hurd is now co-president of Oracle.
HP has 10 days to make the letter public, minus certain passages that will remain confidential. Hurd’s attorneys may successfully stop that from happening. HP shareholders have questioned the company’s conduct in regard to Hurd’s departure and whether Hurd’s severance package was exorbitant, among other questions. A shareholder lawsuit was responsible for unsealing the letter.
Source:
Judge orders letter accusing former HP CEO Mark Hurd of harassment to be unsealed (Los Angeles Times)