A former Peloton instructor has accused the company of wrongful termination and discrimination, alleging in a lawsuit that an executive mocked his Irish background and his request for a medical exemption for the Covid vaccine.
Daniel McKenna is suing Peloton for nearly $2m after the exercise and media company terminated his employment last month. McKenna has accused Peloton’s chief content officer, Jennifer Cotter, of discrimination, retaliation and breach of contract.
McKenna had worked for the company for more than a year, during which time he received an annual salary of $260,000. He had been on leave after a surgery, but planned to return to work early when Cotter told him he was on “thin ice for taking disability leave”, the lawsuit states.
The company terminated his employment “for cause”, but did not provide any explanation or notice about his behavior, according to the lawsuit.
McKenna also alleges Cotter subjected him to discrimination and stereotypes about his Irish nationality, telling him “nobody understands what you are saying” because of his accent, according to the lawsuit. “That’s Daniel our Irish instructor, he’s rough around the edges and hard to understand but the members love him,” the suit says Cotter said in a meeting. At the same meeting, the lawsuit alleges, Cotter told McKenna “I hope you’re not drunk, Daniel.”
McKenna says his “extreme anxiety, humiliation and embarrassment” spiraled after the meeting, according to the lawsuit, adversely affecting his mental and emotional health.
The former instructor also accused Cotter of disparaging him for concerns he had about getting the Covid-19 vaccine. After undergoing an unexpected surgery in 2021, McKenna says, he was fearful the vaccine would negatively affect his recovery and requested a “legally available medical exemption”, which Cotter “categorically denied” and made denigrating remarks about, the lawsuit states. Concerned about disrupting his career, McKenna received the vaccine.
McKenna is seeking $1.8m in damages for mental distress and the harm he says Peloton has done to his career. Peloton did not immediately respond to a request for comment.