Can a CEO Fire You for Cheating? The Legal Issues Behind the Natalie Dawson Story

Is Cardone Ventures Discriminating by This Post and These Actions?

American CEO Natalie Dawson, president of Cardone Ventures, has sparked debate after revealing she fired two employees for cheating on their partners. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Dawson explained that she immediately terminated the employees upon learning about the infidelity, believing that personal dishonesty reflects professional unreliability.

For her, integrity in personal and professional life is intertwined, and she considers cheating employees a liability to the company culture and environment. While some support her commitment to ethics, others criticize her for blurring private and work boundaries.

#NatalieDawson #CEO #Integrity #WorkplaceEthics #Leadership #Infidelity #USNews #CorporateCulture #Accountability #BreakingNews #fblifestyle 

It really depends on the facts, but if you were terminated, you should take a deep look into this one.

Specifically, how did the CEO learn about the infidelity? Was it from an out-of-wedlock pregnancy? If yes, that can constitute sexual harassment under Title VII because only a woman can get pregnant.

Here is another angle: Is this CEO acting on religious grounds and trying to impose her beliefs on her staff? If so, that may constitute religious discrimination. A federal court explained earlier this year:

“The plaintiff must assert that an adverse employment action was taken because of a discriminatory motive based upon the employee’s failure to hold or follow her employer’s religious beliefs.”

— Owens v. City of New York Dep't of Educ., No. 21-2875, 2022 WL 17844279, at *2 (2d Cir. Dec. 22, 2022))." Maas v JTM Provisions Co., Inc., 1:23-CV-00076-JPH, 2025 WL 823671, at *4 [SD Ohio Mar. 13, 2025]

Think your firing crossed a legal line?

Lieb at Law handles discrimination and wrongful termination cases across NY, NJ, and CT.
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Understanding Wrongful Termination: When You May Have a Case for Legal Action

Wrongful termination is a serious issue that can have significant consequences for employees who have been unfairly dismissed from their jobs. If you believe that you have been wrongfully terminated, it's important to understand what types of situations can give rise to a case for wrongful termination.

There are two main scenarios in which an employee may have a case for wrongful termination. 

1. Termination from whistleblowing or reporting a violation of law / safety to a supervisor or government agency. 
2. Termination from discrimination based on your demographics, which can include race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, handicap / disability, sexual orientation, domestic violence victim status, stalking victim status, gender identity / expression, marital status, gender, creed, age, alienage status, citizenship status, ethnic background, pregnancy, arrest / sealed conviction record, and other protected categories.

If you believe that your termination falls under either of these scenarios, you may have a case for wrongful termination and you should seek legal representation. A qualified attorney will help you understand your rights and options and can work to get you the compensation that you deserve.

Contact Lieb at Law to find out how to get in touch with one of our litigation lawyers soon. Lieb at Law offers attorneys licensed to practice law in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Colorado, and in the federal courts. 

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Federal Court Upholds Employer's Mandatory Vaccination Policy

The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas held that the Houston Methodist Hospital's policy requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, under the threat of termination, is lawful.

In Bridges et al. v. Houston Methodist Hospital et al., 117 hospital employees sued the hospital for "unlawfully forcing its employees to be injected with one of the currently-available vaccines or be fired." The plaintiffs alleged that they were wrongfully terminated and compared the vaccination requirement to "forced medical experimentation during the Holocaust."  

Citing to EEOC guidance (which is not binding) stating that employers can mandate COVID-19 vaccinations subject to reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs, the Court dismissed plaintiffs' wrongful termination claim (Texas law only protects employees from being terminated for refusing to commit a criminal act). The Court also dismissed the plaintiffs' claims that requiring vaccinations is against public policy because the employees were not coerced to take the vaccine (clearly distinguishing a mandatory vaccination policy from plaintiffs' absurd example of forced injections in concentration camps). Rather, the hospital is trying to protect against a spread of COVID-19 and employees "can freely choose to accept or refuse a COVID-19 vaccine; however, if she refuses, she will simply need to work somewhere else." The Court equated a mandatory vaccination policy to changing an employee's schedule or office location in the sense that "every employment includes limits on the worker's behavior in exchange for his remuneration. That is all part of the bargain." 

This is the first of likely many challenges to employer mandatory vaccination policies. Do you think permitting employers to implement mandatory vaccination policies is against public policy? If so, why?