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One of Meta’s earliest employees has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation. The lawsuit was filed in Washington’s Superior Court. It detailed a toxic work environment that persisted throughout the employees’ 15-year tenure.
The ex-employee, who joined Facebook (now Meta) in 2009 claims she was sexually harassed within weeks of joining the company. She said a colleague touched her inappropriately at a company event, in 2011. The lawsuit further details that the employee’s manager tried to assault her in a hotel room. When she refused his advances, she was denied a promotion.
Despite the complaints to Meta's human resources department, nothing was done and the perpetrators stayed on at the company.
The former employee said that after being transferred to Meta's Seattle office in 2012, she advanced to the role of director by 2017. However, she still suffered from workplace discrimination.
In 2020, when the Black Lives Matter protests took place, she confronted her manager for putting a Blue Lives Matter symbol on his profile. The lawsuit alleged that he rebuffed her complaint and made racial comments about ‘Black youth’. She alleges she was twice passed over for promotions while male colleagues advanced.
When the ex-employee joined Meta's Reality Labs to work on Horizon Worlds. She claims she had voiced concerns about the lack of safety measures for minors on the platform and racist behavior.
The lawsuit says Meta executives were aware of racial slurs that targeted Black avatars within seconds of joining the platform. After raising her concerns, she was allegedly sidelined from leadership meetings and denied another promotion.
The alleged victim later went on medical leave for PTSD and suicidal thoughts brought on by the work environment at Meta. Meta laid her off in January 2024. Speaking about her decision to file the lawsuit, she said, "It became clear that this was the best, if not the only way to drive accountability at Meta.
Meta declined to comment on the lawsuit. Meanwhile, former COO Sheryl Sandberg, who attended company events with the ex-employee, also declined to respond. The case raises broader concerns about workplace culture and accountability within major tech companies.
