A tech start-up in California called Pilot AI is now at the center of a wrongful termination case that includes allegations of wrongful discharge, retaliation, discrimination and sexual harassment. The case, which was started by a 24-year-old woman who went to Stanford University, was entered in the San Francisco Superior Court.
The lawsuit claims that the two co-founders, who are both men, turned the workplace into a hostile work environment. The young woman says that they made inappropriate sexual comments and, to get her to participate in these types of conversations, only gave her a promotion and a raise of $20,000 when she joined in.
She also says that one of the men made sexual advances toward her in his office, and the other man did not do anything when she reported it. That first man then asked her to go on a date with him, but she claims she was worried about her safety and she turned him down.
When the woman later asked for a leave of absence, her contact with the company was cut off and she stopped getting paychecks. She realized that they had essentially fired her after she reported some of these events and started an investigation. She believes this was in retaliation for her actions, which one of the co-founders asked her not to move forward with for fear that the company would be ruined.
Cases like this are very complex and must be taken seriously. Anyone who believes that their rights as an employee have been violated needs to know about all of the legal options they have.