Adding to a growing list of lawsuits against San Francisco-based startup SoFi, a former loan reviewer filed a complaint on Thursday in California state court, claiming she was repeatedly sexually harassed while working there, according to an article in Bloomberg by Selina Wang.
Yulia Zamora told her superiors about the sexually charged behavior but was ignored, the article stated.
From the Bloomberg article:
Characterizing the company as a “frathouse,” Zamora described drinking parties and “rampant sexual activity” in bathrooms and parked cars.
In the new suit, Zamora alleges that managers encouraged employees to drink from beer kegs and a margarita cart at SoFi’s office in Healdsburg, California. Managers “relentlessly flirted with subordinates” and had sex whenever and wherever they could, including in parked cars and in bathroom stalls where they broke toilet seats, according to the complaint. Zamora also alleges a director at the company repeatedly propositioned her and other employees for sex.
Zamora’s lawsuit comes a week after Mike Cagney, SoFi CEO, announced he was stepping down from the position, effective immediately, as controversy surrounding the company intensified.
The announcement significantly moved up Cagney’s original statement that he planned to step down by the end of the year.
However, as the news about SoFi’s alleged toxic culture only heightened, a lot of news coverage placed Cagney at the center of the issues.
And this latest lawsuit is the at least one of three against SoFi. The company is also dealing with claims that it fired a former employee for reporting sexual harassment allegations to his superiors.
Before stepping down from the role, Cagney adamantly denounced the claims saying, “To be blunt, that kind of behavior has no place at SoFi, and we’re not going to tolerate it.”
Plus, in a new statement to Bloomberg on the Zamora lawsuit, SoFi said “while we can’t comment on the specific allegations in this lawsuit, harassment of any kind has no place at SoFi. The board and management of SoFi are committed to creating a culture where employees can thrive.”
