Brendan Eich stepped down from his post as CEO of Mozilla on Thursday after only two weeks on the job, in response to public outcry about his opposition to gay marriage. Some company employees called for his resignation and dating site OkCupid issued a denunciation of the CEO, going so far as to encourage its users accessing their site from Firefox to download competitors’ internet browsers. The uprising dealt the CEO a fatal blow. Given the strong trajectory toward equality over different sexual orientations, Eich should have expected his donation to California’s Proposition 8 to receive negative press. He is entitled to his personal opinion, but as CEO of a major technology company that holds significant influence, his values should not infringe on business operation.
Even while he was the chief technology officer at Mozilla, which is when Eich made the donation, he should have anticipated the consequences of his donation to an anti-marriage equality proposal that received national media coverage. As one of the co-founders of the company, Eich and his actions always carried a certain amount of weight — while he has the constitutional right to direct personal funds towards whichever cause he sees fit, he is not necessarily protected from social reactions and ramifications. Norms in this country have slowly gravitated toward support for marriage equality, and employees of Mozilla are protected by the First Amendment as well in voicing their disapproval of the former CEO.
The extent of the separation between a corporation and its head is something currently being examined by the Supreme Court in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby. The owners of Hobby Lobby, Inc., a family of five, are citing their right to religious liberty in challenging a provision of the Affordable Care Act that mandates employers to provide employees with access to various forms of birth control. This case points toward problems that arise from mixing personal beliefs with business. When an employer makes a decision based on personal convictions that restrict, or perhaps simply offend, an employee, whose rights are paramount?
Eich’s private opinions on social issues likely would have had little impact on employees or customers of Mozilla. However, the patrons and workforce made it clear that they did not feel accurately represented by him and were well within their rights to protest his appointment as CEO. He stepped down of his own accord, and, if the resignation was a consequence of his expression of his First Amendment right to free speech, then so be it.
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, April 7 print edition. Email the WSN Editorial Board at [email protected].