The gender inequity in tech has reared its ugly head again. A former employee of the San Francisco, California tech company Binary has filed suit alleging sexual harassment in the workplace. A recent news story gives the details of the lawsuit and the woman’s quest for justice since experiencing ongoing harassment.
The woman was a principal at the company and left in 2016 after experiencing sexual harassment on the job. Many of the harassment allegations stem from Binary co-founder Justin Caldbeck. Caldbeck allegedly made unwelcome sexual advances towards other female startup founders. The company also had gender specific dress codes, and employees made statements about the attractiveness of the female employee and her female co-workers.
After the employee left the company, she continued to receive threatening and harassing messages and communication from the company’s founder. The woman was not able to find employment immediately after leaving. One company that had previously expressed interest in hiring her rescinded its offer. Another company said that hiring her “might get complicated”. The story broke in the news after a tech media company wrote an article exposing the violations.
The lawsuit, filed in California, is seeking damages, civil penalties, and attorney costs. Other employees in California may be facing a similar issue with sexual harassment at work. Employees are protected against this type of violation at both the federal and state level, and a lawyer can be of assistance when it is time to file a lawsuit against a company who has contributed to a hostile work environment.
Source: Bloomberg, “Binary Accused of Post-Resignation Harassment by Ex-Employee“, Emily Chang and Sarah McBride, June 29, 2017