Forbes.com Article on Sony Interactive Entertainment Lawsuit filed by ILG Legal Office, PC

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Sony Interactive Entertainment, LLC for Gender Discrimination

On November 22, 2021, our law firm filed a class action and collective action lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment, LLC alleging that females, including those who were designated female at birth and those who identify as female, suffer from systemic gender discrimination. Several media sources, including Forbes.com, are now covering the new case.  https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisakim/2021/11/23/former-sony-playstation-employee-alleges-gender-discrimination-in-lawsuit/?sh=3a3e8a4d6a79

Sony reports that forty-one percent (41%) of PlayStation owners are females (i.e., 41% of the owners of the two most recent consoles, the PS4 and PS5 consoles). Even though nearly half of PlayStation owners are females, a 2020 study revealed that Sony’s Executive Committee was 100% male. The report was prepared by “20-first Research” which analyzes “progress on gender balance in the top companies of a number of industries and countries, as well as across the Top 100 companies of the Fortune Global 500.” Sony received the worst possible rating, “Asleep” because Sony did not have any females in either Staff or Line leadership roles. There was no female representation at all on the Executive Committee.

Emma Majo seeks to represent a “California Class” and a “Nationwide Class” of individuals employed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, LLC who are either (a) female or (b) identify as female, pursuing claims under California and federal Equal Pay Act and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.

The lawsuit alleges that Sony discriminates against females by: (i) denying work opportunities to female employees on the basis of gender, (ii) paying females less than their male counterparts in base compensation, (iii) failing to investigate or respond to evidence of discrimination in the workplace against female employees, and (iv) otherwise exposing female employees to differential treatment.

When Emma Majo spoke up about the gender discrimination at Sony, she was terminated. Sony claimed it was terminating her because it was phasing out a video on demand department, but Majo was not even a part of that department. She was part of the Financial Asset Management Department and was only temporarily helping with video on demand. Her lawsuit alleges that Sony’s stated reason to terminate her was a pretext and in, fact, Sony simply wanted to get rid of a worker who spoke up about gender bias in the workplace.

The lawsuit will attempt to correct the gender imbalance and recover compensation for female employees, including those who identify as female, who were paid less than their male counterparts.

The case is Emma Majo v. Sony Interactive Entertainment, LLC, Case No. 3:21-cv-09054 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.