In the wake of the Matt Lauer scandal, NBC staffers can now reportedly be fired for failing to report a colleague's misconduct

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published 26 December 2017

NBC has reportedly beefed up its harassment guidelines to protect staffers following the ousting of Today's Matt Lauer, who was accused last month of disturbingly inappropriate conduct. NBC employees who fail to report colleagues they see behaving inappropriately can now reportedly be fired themselves for "covering up," a person familiar with the changes told Page Six.

"Staffers have been told that if they find out about any affairs, romances, inappropriate relationships, or behavior in the office, they have to report it to human resources, their superior, or the company anti-harassment phone line," the insider said. "Staffers are shocked that they are now expected to snitch on their friends." The insider added that there are also "strict rules about socializing, including [not] sharing taxis home and [not] taking vegans to steakhouses."

Lauer reportedly took advantage of his position at NBC to make advances on female colleagues. Lauer "couldn't sleep around town with celebrities or on the road with random people, because he's Matt Lauer and he's married," one producer told Variety. "So he'd have to do it within his stable, where he exerted power, and he knew people wouldn't ever complain." The guidelines are apparently intended to prevent similar situations from arising again. Read more about the reported changes at NBC at Page Six.