Joshua Harris happens to be the owner of both the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers. And with that status comes the full wrath of the public eye when a boneheaded decision is made. Case in point, Harris decided to do the right thing and reverse course after doing just that.
Earlier this week, he had decided to reduce non-contracted employees’ paychecks during the outbreak of COVID-19. Thanks to the spread, both professional leagues had decided to postpone all action, which meant that plenty of arena staff were temporarily out of work.
But thanks to some swift and immediate backlash, he backed off that decision and will be paying everyone their full salaries.
“Our commitment has been to do our best to keep all of our employees working through this very difficult situation,” Harris said Tuesday afternoon in a statement. “As part of an effort to do that we asked salaried employees to take a temporary 20 percent pay cut while preserving everyone’s full benefits — and keeping our 1,500 hourly workers paid throughout the regular season. After listening to our staff and players, it’s clear that was the wrong decision.
“We have reversed it and will be paying these employees their full salaries. This is an extraordinary time in our world – unlike any most of us have ever lived through before – and ordinary business decisions are not enough to meet the moment. “To our staff and fans, I apologize for getting this wrong.”
Even though it may have taken some rightfully earned public criticism, it’s good to see Harris recognize his earlier error and to correct it.
– – Quotes via Abbey Mastracco of NorthJersey.comLink – –
