Key Takeaways
- • Kayleen Fulton, who led the Ethereum Foundation's Protocol Support team, filed a federal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado alleging disability discrimination and FMLA retaliation after her firing, which she says followed her ovarian cancer disclosure and her organizing of staff opposition to the Ethereum Foundation Mandate.
- • The suit names Stiftung Ethereum, Ethereum Asia Pacific Limited, employer-of-record firms Lightsource HR Global and Vensure Employer Services, Co-Executive Director Bastian Aue, and co-founder Vitalik Buterin as defendants.
- • The 38-page Mandate, published March 13, included a "Source Seppuku License" that, per the complaint, required affirmation under threat of termination; the foundation had not publicly responded to Gizmodo's request for comment as of the report.
- • According to the complaint, 53 members of the Protocol cluster signed a letter saying they "cannot in good faith affirm under these conditions," and Fulton and colleague Trent Van Epps were fired about 30 minutes apart on April 6.
- • Lawyers for Ethereum Asia Pacific denied allegations of unlawful conduct, retaliation, and wrongful termination in May correspondence, according to the complaint.
Summary
Kayleen Fulton, who led the Ethereum Foundation's Protocol Support team and facilitated All Core Developers calls under the handle Nixo, filed a federal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado. The suit alleges disability discrimination and retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, interference and retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and related Colorado claims. Fulton contends she was fired over her cancer disclosure and her organization of staff opposition to a requirement that employees personally affirm the foundation's Mandate or lose their jobs, according to Gizmodo's reporting on the filing.
The defendants include Stiftung Ethereum, the foundation's Swiss legal entity; Singapore affiliate Ethereum Asia Pacific Limited; employer-of-record firms Lightsource HR Global and Vensure Employer Services; Co-Executive Director Bastian Aue; and co-founder Vitalik Buterin. The Mandate, a 38-page vision statement published by the board on March 13, contained a passage labeled the "Source Seppuku License" on page 11. According to the complaint, 79 employees voted to remove the passage after the February draft, and the final document retained the pledge in an illustrated image.
According to the complaint, Fulton was diagnosed with ovarian cancer on March 19, the day before Aue issued an ultimatum that staff commit to the Mandate by the following Monday or be treated as having resigned. Fulton disclosed the diagnosis in writing on March 24. The next day, she and Trent Van Epps sent the board a letter signed by 53 members of the Protocol cluster stating the signatories "cannot in good faith affirm under these conditions" but "do not resign." The complaint says Aue later treated the letter as a commitment and said all 53 could keep their jobs. On April 6, Aue allegedly fired Van Epps and Fulton about 30 minutes apart, citing no reason, while telling Fulton her "track record is good."
The complaint also describes a partially recorded May 1 conversation with Buterin, in which he allegedly warned that rewarding employees for "making a stink" could encourage similar pressure campaigns. Fulton argues this supports her retaliation claim. Aue wrote that the sword clause was "part of the artwork of the mandate" and said he personally agreed to its inclusion. As of Monday afternoon, the foundation had not responded to Gizmodo's request for comment. The complaint acknowledges that lawyers for Ethereum Asia Pacific denied the allegations in May correspondence.
Several commentators have weighed in. Crypto attorney Gabriel Shapiro of MetaLeX wrote that "no reasonable person could believe it is asking people to literally agree to commit suicide," while Bankless co-founder David Hoffman said the document "does not seriously ask employees to kill themselves" but "does literally ask employees to kill themselves." Christine D. Kim, founder of Protocol Watch, argued the document "caused a lot of division and heartache within the EF." The suit follows earlier controversies at the foundation, including the firing of Geth lead developer Péter Szilágyi.
The defendants include Stiftung Ethereum, the foundation's Swiss legal entity; Singapore affiliate Ethereum Asia Pacific Limited; employer-of-record firms Lightsource HR Global and Vensure Employer Services; Co-Executive Director Bastian Aue; and co-founder Vitalik Buterin. The Mandate, a 38-page vision statement published by the board on March 13, contained a passage labeled the "Source Seppuku License" on page 11. According to the complaint, 79 employees voted to remove the passage after the February draft, and the final document retained the pledge in an illustrated image.
According to the complaint, Fulton was diagnosed with ovarian cancer on March 19, the day before Aue issued an ultimatum that staff commit to the Mandate by the following Monday or be treated as having resigned. Fulton disclosed the diagnosis in writing on March 24. The next day, she and Trent Van Epps sent the board a letter signed by 53 members of the Protocol cluster stating the signatories "cannot in good faith affirm under these conditions" but "do not resign." The complaint says Aue later treated the letter as a commitment and said all 53 could keep their jobs. On April 6, Aue allegedly fired Van Epps and Fulton about 30 minutes apart, citing no reason, while telling Fulton her "track record is good."
The complaint also describes a partially recorded May 1 conversation with Buterin, in which he allegedly warned that rewarding employees for "making a stink" could encourage similar pressure campaigns. Fulton argues this supports her retaliation claim. Aue wrote that the sword clause was "part of the artwork of the mandate" and said he personally agreed to its inclusion. As of Monday afternoon, the foundation had not responded to Gizmodo's request for comment. The complaint acknowledges that lawyers for Ethereum Asia Pacific denied the allegations in May correspondence.
Several commentators have weighed in. Crypto attorney Gabriel Shapiro of MetaLeX wrote that "no reasonable person could believe it is asking people to literally agree to commit suicide," while Bankless co-founder David Hoffman said the document "does not seriously ask employees to kill themselves" but "does literally ask employees to kill themselves." Christine D. Kim, founder of Protocol Watch, argued the document "caused a lot of division and heartache within the EF." The suit follows earlier controversies at the foundation, including the firing of Geth lead developer Péter Szilágyi.
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