Dan Price, CEO of credit card firm Gravity Payments, has resigned years after taking a pay cut in order to give employees a raise.
In 2015, Price made waves when he revealed that he would slash his $1 million salary to $70,000 in order to support raises for his staff.
While a progressive move, Price has since made headlines after being charged with a misdemeanor for assault against a woman and reckless driving, in which he pled not guilty.
“My No. 1 priority is for our employees to work for the best company in the world, but my presence has become a distraction here,” Price wrote on Twitter.
“I also need to step aside from these duties to focus full time on fighting false accusations made against me.”
This isn’t the first time Price has faced legal trouble. The same year he took a price cut, his brother sued him after allegations that he was overpaying himself.
Accountability has been thrusted into the spotlight in recent years, particularly from executives.
Illegal actions, particularly ones that harm others, have always been abhorrent. However, recent shifts in workplace culture make brushing these types of issues under the rug unacceptable in both the eyes of employees and consumers.