Today, Tuesday, June 18th, Wigdor LLP filed a retaliation suit against Meta Platforms on behalf of Jeffrey Smith. Mr. Smith is an accomplished engineer who was hired by Meta in 2018, bringing over a decade of experience to the company. Mr. Smith’s early tenure at Meta was an immediate success, and he was an exemplary manager who was particularly praised for investing in and empowering his reports. This changed, however, when Mr. Smith began to challenge leadership about misogyny that he observed in the workplace. Specifically, Mr. Smith drew the ire of male leads when he advocated for female employees and brought their concerns about sexist treatment to management in hopes of creating a more equitable working environment. When Mr. Smith flagged that several new positions were to be filled by less qualified men when there were qualified female applicants, he was again met with pushback in the form of a negative performance review.
The situation came to a head in 2024, when Mr. Smith received an annual review that was falsified to ensure that he received a poor rating. Mr. Smith lost out on a bonus and was told by management that he should resign from his current role with Meta as a result.
The Complaint is attached..
Quote from Wigdor Partner Valdi Licul:
“Mr. Smith’s case is yet another example of how major corporations are failing to address sexist cultures and how they try to silence those who speak out against their practices. We look forward to holding Meta accountable and making it clear that sexism has no place in the workforce.”
Any questions can be directed to attorney Valdi Licul (vlicul@wigdorlaw.com) or Communications Manager Courtney Cormican (ccormican@wigdorlaw.com).