Facebook Faces Employment Discrimination Lawsuit

Earlier this week, a former employee of Facebook filed a lawsuit against the social networking site, alleging gender and race discrimination. The lawsuit claims that the woman was initially hired as a program manager and later promoted to a technology partner. Despite receiving raises during her employment, she was terminated after she began complaining about harassment.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin, and religion. This means that an employer cannot take any adverse or negative actions against an employee due to their membership in one of these protected categories. If an employee reports discrimination and subsequently experiences negative consequences such as termination, unfavorable transfers, unfavorable working hours, or being passed over for promotions, they may have grounds to file a retaliation lawsuit.

In this specific case, the employee complained about being belittled at work and faced inappropriate comments, such as questioning why she didn’t stay home to take care of her children. She also alleged being reprimanded for requesting time off to visit her child’s school and being assigned tasks outside her job description, such as organizing parties and serving drinks to male colleagues. She further claimed that her professional opinions were belittled or ignored in group meetings, particularly as one of the few employees of Chinese descent. Additionally, she asserted that she was replaced by a less qualified male after her termination.

The employee is seeking back pay and damages in this lawsuit.

For more information or if you believe you have experienced any form of employment discrimination, please contact the experienced Atlanta employment discrimination attorneys at The Buckley Law Office, LLP for an immediate case evaluation.