A tech startup in San Fransisco fired a female employee, and she’s now suing and claiming she was subjected to sexual harassment. The company is called UploadVR, and they hired her to be their Director of Digital and Social Media in May of 2016. By March of 2017, she had been fired.
The woman says that she tried to tell management about the issues in the workplace, but when she spoke up, they simply fired her in retaliation.
Essentially, the lawsuit claims that repetitious demoralizing conduct created a hostile workplace. It says that the company treated the female workers as second-class citizens, when compared to male workers. They were allegedly targeted by demeaning gender-based comments, harassed, isolated from the rest of the workforce and paid less than the male employees.
The lawsuit goes on to say that the environment was that of a “boy’s club”, where the women were excluded and sexual discussions were common. For instance, it says that there was a “kink room,” which was set up to encourage employees to have sex while they were on the clock, complete with a bed. It also says that drug use was common.
The company was asked for a statement and would not comment since the case is ongoing, but they did say that their employees are very important to them.
Have you been forced to work in an office with a hostile, demeaning environment, where such things were just part of the work culture? If so, you need to know what legal rights you have, especially if you were fired when speaking out about this unprofessional conduct.
Source: KTVU, “Former employee alleges sexual harassment against SF tech startup in lawsuit,” May 16, 2017