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Judge: 2 claims in fired Netflix worker’s lawsuit need shoring up
The Industry Nov 15, 2022
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A director in the Netflix business and legal affairs department will have to shore up harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims as they relate to two members of the streaming giant’s management team for those allegations to remain part of her lawsuit, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yolanda Orozco issued her ruling during a hearing in plaintiff Nandini Mehta’s case that dealt with a defense motion to dismiss the harassment claim insofar as it pertains to Josephine Choy and the emotional distress allegations as they relate to both Choy and David B. “Ben” McLean.
McLean was Mehta’s direct supervisor and Choy was his boss. Both Choy and McLean are co-defendants along with Netflix Inc. in the suit filed in July 2021.
Mehta is an Indian citizen who worked in Netflix’s Los Angeles and Mumbai offices. She alleges she was “repeatedly and systematically discriminated against, bullied, and harassed” because of her race and gender and ultimately let go because she was a whistleblower.
Mehta alleges that she discussed her concerns about pay discrepancies at Netflix with Choy and informed Choy that other Netflix employees told her to write a memo for Netflix management, but that Choy told her not to do so because complaints were “toxic” to Netflix’s culture.
Mehta says she received a pay increase that was less than what male American employees working in the international market with less experience than her were given.
Mehta also maintains that in separate interactions, Choy and McLean told her she would never get another raise at Netflix and that she would be fired immediately if she made further complaints, according to Mehta’s court papers, which further allege that Choy’s reluctance to travel to India was indicative of what the plaintiff maintains was a xenophobic culture at Netflix.
Mehta further alleges Netflix used questionable strategies to limit its tax liabilities in India and that she received a backlash from management when she spoke out about it, including being ultimately fired in April 2020 on false allegations of misuse of her corporate credit card.
Addressing the harassment claim, the judge found the fact that Choy allegedly ignored or was indifferent to McLean’s conduct toward Mehta was not enough to support a cause a harassment claim against Choy. Orozco also found that there were insufficient details in Mehta’s court papers showing that the conduct of Choy and McLean was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s emotional distress.
The judge gave Mehta’s attorneys 45 days to file an amended complaint.
Mehta’s suit also alleges multiple other causes of action that were not addressed in the defense motion, including race and gender discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation, violation of the state’s Equal Pay Act, defamation and civil rights violations.
Mehta was hired by Netflix in 2018 and was involved in the platform’s first Indian content deal, leading to such shows as “Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives.”
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