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It hasn't been a great year for ride-booking app Uber.
And now it could all fall on beleaguered company chief executive Travis Kalanick, whose future is currently being decided by Uber's board.
According to a source that spoke to Reuters, Uber Technologies Inc's board was meeting on Sunday (Monday AEST) to discuss Mr Kalanick temporarily stepping away from the firm.
Confused about what's got him to this point?
Here's a quick guide.
It all started with a blog post
In February, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a 3000-word blog post detailing allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination during her year at the ride-booking app.
She claimed that on her first day as a programmer and engineer, her manager sexually propositioned her over the company's internal chat system.
When she raised the issue with management, her concerns were dismissed.
"Upper management told me that he 'was a high performer' … and they wouldn't feel comfortable punishing him for what was probably just an innocent mistake on his part," she wrote.
Shortly after, her pathway to promotion was blocked and she left the company.
She now works for digital payments company Stripe.
But her blog post detailing the events quickly went viral and prompted the hashtag #deleteUber.
Uber reported about 200,000 people deleted their accounts in the wake of the scandal.
A full investigation was announced
Mr Kalanick responded shortly after with an "urgent investigation".
"What's described here is abhorrent & against everything we believe in. Anyone who behaves this way or thinks this is OK will be fired [sic]," he tweeted.
"I've instructed our chief human resources officer Liane to conduct an urgent investigation. There can be absolutely no place for this kind of behaviour at Uber."
But that wasn't the end of the drama for Uber
The blog post seemed to kickstart a whole host of controversies for the ride-booking company.
Dashcam video emerged of Mr Kalanick arguing with an Uber driver over the company lowering prices for its black car service.
He was filmed saying to the driver: "You know what, some people don't like to take responsibility for their own shit. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!"
Mr Kalanick later issued a "profound" apology to Uber employees.
"I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up," he said in a statement following the video's release.
The company also came under fire from Google's parent company, Alphabet, who launched legal action against it for allegedly stealing the design of a key self-driving system.
After that it was reported Uber had been using a new feature called Greyball to deceive authorities and keep drivers away from trouble.
And it's important to remember all of this followed Mr Kalanick being forced to step down from a Trump advisory council position after facing big criticism from immigration advocates and ongoing criticism from the taxi industry and employees about their treatment.
There was an exodus of senior Uber staff
Between February and March, a number of senior members of Uber's team quit.
That included Uber president Jeff Jones who left in March citing differences over beliefs and approach to leadership.
The SVP of engineering, Amit Singhal, left Uber after it emerged he had not disclosed he had left Google a year earlier amid allegations of sexual harassment.
Uber VP of product and growth Ed Baker left the company in March amid alleged complaints about his behaviour.
So, what's happening now?
Well, Mr Kalanick's job is on the line.
Apart from discussing his future, the board was also going to consider sweeping changes to the company's management practices recommended by an outside attorney hired to investigate sexual harassment and the firm's broader culture.
Uber said a report prepared by the attorney considered 215 cases encompassing sexual harassment, discrimination, unprofessional behaviour, bullying and other employee complaints.
Uber then said it responded to the report's findings by firing 20 employees for a variety of reasons, and was increasing training and adopting new policies.
When will we know the board's decision?
One of the sources told Reuters the company will likely make its decision public by Tuesday.
Mr Kalanick did not immediately respond to requests for comment late on Saturday.
An Uber spokesman had no comment.
ABC/Reuters
Topics: united-states
First posted