A former Sony IT security analyst filed a sexual discrimination lawsuit against Sony in November, claiming that women at Sony aren’t compensated equally to male employees and have been subjected to various discriminatory practices. In a recent court decision, however, a federal judge discarded a majority of those allegations.
As first reported by Axios, a 20-page order dropped on April 21 by U.S. magistrate judge Laurel Beeler dismissed 10 of 13 claims made by former Sony employee Emma Majo.
This dismissal included claims focused on pay discrimination and harassment, with Beleer writing that they were dismissed because the plaintiff merely recited the elements of the claim and did not allege any specific facts.” Specifically, it notes that Majo did not describe her work or how it was “substantially equal” to the work of any male she alleged was paid more than she was. Beeler also ruled that some claims of harassment were incorrectly applied to “personnel decisions like promotions and demotions.”
Sony’s lawyers asked for the suit to be thrown out in February, claiming Majo’s allegations did not contain enough facts. Majo will have a chance to amend the remaining three claims about wrongful termination and violation of whistleblower protections, and her initial goal of turning her individual suit into a class-action movement may still be on the table as well.
Beeler acknowledged the eight other claims made by women currently and formerly employed by PlayStation in March “may yield new allegations.”
