Kayleen Fulton sues Ethereum Foundation and Vitalik Buterin over 6 April firing

Key points

• Kayleen Fulton says she was fired on 6 April, 13 days after telling senior management of her diagnosis.
• The complaint names six defendants, including Stiftung Ethereum, Ethereum Asia Pacific Ltd., Bastian Aue and Vitalik Buterin.
• Fulton brings 11 claims and is also pursuing an NLRB unfair labour practice charge that was pending when she sued.

Kayleen Fulton, a former Ethereum Foundation employee, has sued the Ethereum Foundation and co-founder Vitalik Buterin in the US District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging she was wrongfully dismissed after disclosing an ovarian cancer diagnosis and organising staff opposition to an internal mandate. The complaint says she was fired on 6 April, 13 days after informing senior management of her illness.

At the centre of the dispute is the Mandate, a board document distributed on 25 Feb that the complaint says contained a "Source Seppuku License" pledge. Staff voted 79 to remove the provision, but the version published 13 March kept the language in a cartoon illustration and was recorded on the Ethereum blockchain, according to the lawsuit. Fulton and Trent Van Epps organised a letter signed by 53 employees opposing a requirement to endorse the Mandate or face dismissal; both were fired on 6 April.

What to watch: The lawsuit is filed and Fulton's separate unfair labour practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board was still pending when she sued.

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