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Coaches, Lawsuits


DANIEL MCKENNA SUES PELOTON FOR WRONGFUL TERMINATION

Katie Weicher on October 12, 2022

Former Peloton instructor Daniel McKenna (who left the company earlier this
month) has filed a lawsuit against Peloton alleging “wrongful termination,
discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.”

Update – The lawsuit was withdrawn & dismissed on December 5th, and shortly
after all of his classes were removed from Peloton.


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In a New York State Courts Electronic Filing (NYSCEF) dated October 12, 2022,
“Daniel Patrick McKenna” is identified as the plaintiff, and “Peloton
Interactive, Inc. and Jennifer Cotter” are identified as the defendants.
Jennifer Cotter is the Chief Content Officer at Peloton and is one of the top
executives to manage and work closely with the instructor team.

Daniel McKenna court filing against Peloton.

The filing states:

> Daniel Patrick Mckenna (“Plaintiff” or “Mr. Mckenna”), through his counsel,
> files his Verified Complaint against his former employer Defendant Peloton
> Interactive, Inc (“Peloton”), and Defendant Jennifer Cotter, (“Defendant
> Cotter”), (collectively, “Defendants”) asserting, inter alia, several claims:
> breach of the employment agreement, actual disability and perceived
> disability-based discrimination, failure to engage in good faith interactive
> process, hostile work environment and retaliation.



The complaint goes on to assert that Daniel was subject to a hostile work
environment and that Peloton’s “conduct was knowing, malicious, willful, and
wanton and showed a reckless disregard for which Plaintiff which has caused and
continues to cause Plaintiff to suffer substantial economic and non-economic
damages, permanent harm to his professional and personal reputations, and severe
mental anguish and emotional distress.”

The filing argues that Daniel was not given any notice or “legitimate” reasoning
for his termination. According to the filing, Daniel’s last day at Peloton was
September 12, 2022 – exactly three weeks before Peloton announced his departure
to members. He was reportedly fired via a Zoom meeting and offered a $130,000
severance package amounting to six months of pay. As an interesting side note,
this implies Daniel’s annual salary was $260,000, excluding any bonuses &
equity.

Daniel’s past injury is also brought up in the filing. As a reminder, Daniel
experienced an injury earlier this year that forced him off the live schedule
for approximately three months. The filing states:

> Plaintiff asserts that Defendants willfully and knowingly violated these anti-
> discrimination statutes when they learned that Plaintiff suffered an
> unexpected pectoral injury, failed to engage in good faith interactive
> process, and as soon as he returned to work from his disability, they
> retaliated against him, and wrongfully terminating Plaintiff because of his
> short- term disability and perceived disability.

In addition, the filing explicitly names Cotter as one of the central players in
the “hostile work environment” and maintains that Cotter frequently made
disparaging remarks to and about Daniel. The filing details a disagreement about
Peloton’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate (which Daniel ultimately complied with);
Cotter asking Daniel to remove social media posts unrelated to Peloton; and
Cotter making remarks suggesting that Daniel was drunk at work and that he was
difficult to understand due to his accent.

Note that Peloton has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit, so Peloton and
Cotter have not yet had a chance to share their side of the story – the details
contained in the filing are only from one party.

The filing states:

> Defendant Cotter’s illegal conduct was without limit or bounds, Defendant
> Cotter even humiliated Plaintiff in front of his colleagues and other Peloton
> employees at his first introductory meeting with Peloton’s new Chief Executive
> Officer, Barry McCarthy, by audibly saying and stating, “I hope you’re not
> drunk, Daniel.” Defendant Cotter further boorishly announced at the said
> meeting with Mr. McCarthy, “that’s Daniel our Irish instructor, he’s rough
> round the edges and hard to understand but the members love him.”

According to the filing, Cotter has immense power at Peloton and can essentially
make or break an instructor’s experience:



> Many of the instructors were/are afraid of Defendant Cotter because she
> had/has the power to reduce their classes, played favorites, advertising spots
> and placements with reputed sports gear and apparel companies, and created a
> pervasive atmosphere of hostility.

The filing further lays out the timeline and ways in which Daniel tried to mend
the relationship with Cotter, as it severely affected his mental and emotional
health.

The filing also includes details about the sequence of events surrounding
Daniel’s injury in the spring, including a meeting on June 23, 2022:

> At the meeting, Defendant Cotter alarmingly and confusingly informed Plaintiff
> that Peloton could fire him for going on short-term disability but would allow
> him to resume employment. They said to Plaintiff that it was “not looking
> good” for Plaintiff and he should be fired because in “corporate America” it
> was not acceptable to take disability leave for injuries and surgeries.

The filing argues that Peloton has failed to provide any written basis, factual
explanation, or detailed descriptions regarding Daniel’s termination. In
addition, the filing asserts that Peloton’s non-compete agreement is too
restrictive and prevents Daniel from gaining meaningful employment following his
termination.

In summation, the lawsuit provides nine total causes of action:

 1. Actual or perceived disability discrimination under the New York state human
    rights law.
 2. Actual or perceived disability discrimination under the New York City human
    rights law.
 3. Unlawful retaliation under New York City human rights law.
 4. Retaliation under the New York State human rights law.
 5. National origin discrimination under the NYCHRL-Disparate treatment against
    all defendants.
 6. National origin discrimination in violation of the New York state human
    rights law against all defendants.
 7. National origin discrimination under the NYCHRL-hostile work environment
    against all defendants.
 8. Declaratory judgment that the non-compete provision of the employment
    agreement is unenforceable under New York law.
 9. Breach of contract against Peloton.

After weeks of speculation by members, Peloton officially announced that Daniel
was no longer an instructor with the company on October 3, 2022. A message
posted in the Official Peloton Member Facebook Page provided no details and
simply stated:

> Members,
> Daniel McKenna is no longer a Peloton instructor. His classes will remain in
> our library for Members to enjoy. We wish Daniel all the best in his next
> chapter.

A post from Peloton announcing Daniel McKenna is no longer with Peloton.


Instructor turnover is relatively low at Peloton. Most former instructors have
been very quiet about their time at Peloton and the exact nature of their
departures, with some going on to work for competing companies or start their
own ventures. Former instructor Marina Andresen spoke about a negative
experience at Peloton after her departure last year, but she didn’t explicitly
call out the company.

This is a developing story and we will provide updates as they become available.
You can read more about the announcement of Daniel’s exit in our recent article.

A full copy of the lawsuit is available here.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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KATIE WEICHER

Katie Weicher is a writer for Pelo Buddy. She purchased her Peloton Bike in 2016
and has been riding, strength training, and yoga flowing ever since. You can
find her on the leaderboard at #kweich.

TRENDING NEWS

11/14 – Peloton Black Friday Discounts offer free accessories with purchase of
Bike, Bike+, Tread or Guide
10/12 – Daniel McKenna has sued Peloton for wrongful termination
9/20 – The Peloton Row is officially open for preorders for $3,195
8/16 – Guide for Booking In-Person Studio Classes
4/14 – Peloton is increasing the monthly subscription cost, but lowering the
cost of Bike/Bike+/Tread
4/6/22 – The One Peloton Club Bike/Bike+ Rental Program is expanding
4/5 – The Peloton Guide is here and we have a first look and hands-on with the
new strength device.


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Katie Weicher 2022-10-12T15:47:54-04:00

3 COMMENTS

 * PR says:
   October 12, 2022 at 5:26 pm
   
   Well the shocking news is that people are suffering and can’t put the heating
   on or feed their children in the world and instructors re paid 260k salary.
   
   Besides that Peloton is toxic as a company
   
   Reply
   
 * Amanda says:
   October 12, 2022 at 8:40 pm
   
   Good for him — he has every right to protect himself and sounds like
   leadership has been abusing their power. Really very sad that he won’t be on
   the platform. I loved his classes and found them really effective over other
   male instructors. Peloton leadership really needs to get their act together,
   financially, in HR and PR. Feels like every other day they’re in the news for
   something negative, yet when I use the content, it’s such a positive
   experience. The dichotomy is alarming but doesn’t sit well know I’m
   supporting bullies who are bad at business. They’re making it harder and
   harder to love this platform.
   
   Reply
   
 * E says:
   October 18, 2022 at 1:21 pm
   
   I really liked his classes! I’m surprised to hear these things–I’m a new
   peloton user and I find this a bit disturbing.
   
   Reply
   



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