A tech executive, Shannon Burns, is reported to have been fired after falling asleep in a sauna during a work trip. Multiple outlets connect the dismissal to allegations involving her conduct while on the trip.
The reports say Burns later wins a disability discrimination case against Gitpod, a software company. The articles also note that Gitpod is owned by OpenAI’s developers, and they describe the legal outcome as putting Burns in line for a very large payout. The exact figures vary across outlets, with one report citing a £78 million payout and others suggesting a slightly lower figure around £76 million.
While the outlets focus on the sauna incident as the trigger for her termination, they differ mainly in how they frame the potential damages amount. All accounts present the core sequence as a dismissal followed by a successful disability discrimination claim, with the prospect of a record-level compensation settlement tied to the judgment.
