Meta sued by ex-employee for sexual harassment, gender discrimination

A former employee of Meta, who worked for the company for 15 years, has sued it over charges of sexual harassment, sex discrimination, and retaliation, according to a recently filed lawsuit.

Kelly Stonelake filed the case in the US state of Washington earlier this week, TechCrunch reported.

What she claims?

In her lawsuit, Stonelake alleged that she faced gender-based discrimination and harassment that began shortly after she was hired in 2009 and continued to persist until she was laid off in January last year.


She claims that the Mark Zuckerberg-backed company failed in taking any sort of action when she reported about assault and sexual harassment. The company is said to have retaliated against her when she flagged off concerns regarding a video game product being racist and potentially harmful towards youngsters.

Stonelake alleged she was even routinely passed over when it came to promotions in favour of her male colleagues.

The lawsuit filed in Washington's King County Superior Court mentions that Stonelake was on extended medical leave due to post-traumatic stress disorder by the time the company removed her. Her mental state got severely damaged to the point while working under alleged discriminatory conditions that Stonelake is still getting medical treatment for the same.

'Accountability'

In an interview with TechCrunch, Stonelake stated that she made up with the idea to file the lawsuit "when it became clear that was the best, if not the only, way to drive accountability at Meta”.

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“Meta has the opportunity to do harm on a scale that only tech companies can... It was supposed to be the place where we let off steam," she added.

Stonelake's journey at Meta

In 2009, she had started working for Facebook and was employed at its Palo Alto office, along with men, who were senior to her.

According to her lawsuit, she started facing sexual harassment almost immediately post her joining.

Within her first few weeks at the company, Stonelake alleged in her lawsuit that a colleague had touched her inappropriately at a social gathering event called “League.” However, she was apprehensive about informing this to the human resources department.

In another incident, Stonelake claimed in her lawsuit that her manager took her out for dinner during a business trip in 2011 and later took her to a hotel room where he tried to force himself on her. She alleged that the same person had later informed her that she would not be able to receive a promotion unless she slept with him.
She declined to do so and was reportedly not promoted.

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FAQs

1. What is Meta's response to Kelly Stonelake's lawsuit?
Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton has declined to comment on the lawsuit citing pending litigation.

2. Who is Kelly Stonelake?
Stonelake spent 15 years in Meta and rose to the rank of director. She was hired in 2009 and was removed from the company in January 2024.