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Article

8 Feb 2024

Author:
Daniel Wiessner, Reuters

USA: TikTok & Bytedance face lawsuit over retaliation & sex & age discrimination against former TikTok executive

"Ex-TikTok executive claims she was fired for reporting sex, age bias", 8 February 2024

A former top marketing executive at TikTok sued the social media company and its China-based parent ByteDance..., claiming she had been forced out of her job after she complained about sex, age and disability discrimination.

Katie Puris said in a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court that her 2022 firing was the culmination of a series of incidents where she reported bias and, in one case, sexual harassment to supervisors and human resources.

Puris, who was nearing 50 when she was fired, claims she was subjected to derogatory comments about her age and that ByteDance chairman Zhang Lidong believed women "should remain quiet and humble at all times" and preferred "docility and meekness" in female employees.

She also claims TikTok refused to grant her leave to address medical conditions spurred by the stress and pressure of her job.

TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Marjorie Mesidor and Monica Hincken, lawyers for Puris, said in a joint statement that she faced swift retaliation for complaining about discrimination despite being "enormously successful" at her job.

The lawsuit accuses TikTok and ByteDance of violating U.S. and New York state and city laws prohibiting workplace discrimination and retaliation.