The Second Press Release

The media coverage about Zenefits focused on three main issues: insurance licensing for reps, macro issues, and the company's party culture./nZenefits' reps were licensed in their home states but not in other states because they believed it was not required based on legal advice./nThe company later decided to get everyone licensed in all states to comply with regulations./nGetting licensed in other states only required paying a fee and did not require additional training./nZenefits did not benefit from not getting people licensed and it was considered a mistake./nZenefits hired PwC to audit their business and planned to approach regulators, admit their mistake, and pay fines./nHowever, when the departure of the speaker was announced, the company issued a different press release blaming him for compliance issues./nThere was a plan to issue a different press release all along, suggesting the previous exercise of drafting a different press release was fake./nThe company needed a scapegoat for the compliance issues.