A Sofi Manager Says He Was Fired For Reporting Sexual Harassment

A student loan refinance startup, Social Finance Inc. (SoFi), had a wrongful termination lawsuit filed against it on Friday, August 11 by one of its former operations managers. The male employee’s lawsuit accuses his former employer of having fired him without cause after he reported sexual harassment and other illegal actions his supervisors were seen participating in.

In his lawsuit, the man chronicles how he witnessed as his bosses sexually harassed several of his female co-workers on a number of different occasions. He also accuses his superiors of cancelling loans as a way to avoid having to disclose their mistakes, ones that if found out about, would reduce their expected bonuses.

The plaintiff argues that he stood up for these ill-treated women because he believes no female should have to forced to endure abuse just because maintaining their livelihood depends on keeping the job.

As for the defendant, a spokesperson for SoFi, maintains that the plaintiff’s claims of sexual harassment and fraud in the workplace were previously thoughouly investigated. They noted that they were found to be meritless claims.

The filing of this lawsuit comes at a time when many accusations of sexual harassment and other types of unethical decision making are being waged against a number of Silicon Valley startups. In fact, one recent case filed by a former engineer with Uber accused the ride-sharing giant of having turned a blind eye on her own reports of sexual harassment.

The woman going public has been instrumental in encouraging other women coming forward.

As for SoFi, since going into business in 2011, they have expanded their services to include refinancing of personal and home loans as well as wealth management and life insurance. Their company’s current value is listed as $4.3 billion.

If you’ve either been a victim of sexual innuendos in the workplace or you’ve been retaliated against for reporting it, then you may benefit from discussing your case with a Sacramento sexual harassment attorney.

Source: Bloomberg Technology, “SoFi Employee Says He Was Fired for Reporting Sexual Harassment,” Selina Wang and Julie Verhage, Aug. 14, 2017