Zillow Is the Subject of a Disgusting Lawsuit
As ValleyWag reports, a former Inside Sales Consultant for Zillow, Rachel Kremer, has brought a lawsuit against the company with the following charges: sexual harassment, civil harassment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, negligent retention and supervision, retaliation and wrongful termination.
The charges are based on an experience Kremer alleges is commonplace at the headquarters, which the suit compares to a frat house.
Ms. Kremer quickly learned that Zillow had a pervasive culture of degrading women. Ms. Kremer’s male supervisors ranked her according to her breast size, sent pictures of their penis to her, and demanded sexual gratification and obedience by Ms. Kremer to continue her employment.
Ms. Kremer’s experience was not limited to one supervisor, but instead, was pervasive throughout Zillow’s leadership…Eventually, after experiencing the most heinous acts of sexual harassment imaginable, Ms. Kremer was terminated.
Her supervisor, in particular, is subject to the most persistent allegations — he was allegedly the kind of guy who dubbed a new employee “Rachel 2.0” because she was like Kremer “but with bigger breasts and less miles on her.”
Below are some examples of the inappropriate behavior (graphic language, etc.) that the suit likens to an overall atmosphere of “sexual torture”:
A text message Kremer received from a co-worker. ValleyWag blurred the non-thumb:
Descriptions of text messages from the lawsuit:
On or about February 9, 2013, Mr. Schmidt invited Ms. Kremer to join him later that evening. The message reads: “Call me. Matt is showering. Thinking 333 dinner drink and your smooth vagina.”
On or about February 17, 2013, Ms. Kremer received a text message from Mr. Schmidt which reads: “Wanna blow me and have sex tonight?”
On or about May 5, 2014, Ms. Kremer complained to Mr. Schmidt about the inappropriate conduct of a co-worker. Mr. Schmidt responded by saying: “You should mention something to Eddie. He won’t get fired. I would just tell Eddie to watch it. I wonder if he jerks it to your Salesforce picture when you’re not there.”
Another text message she received:
At one point she asks to have her email password reset. Her supervisor writes back, “Hy said he will reset your password for a boob picture.”
It goes on and on. The full lawsuit is embedded below. But here’s the statement Zillow released in response:
Zillow takes any allegations about our work environment very seriously. When this allegation was first made, we immediately investigated these claims and as a result took quick action and terminated a sales employee in our Irvine office. The allegations in the complaint do not reflect Zillow’s culture or workplace and are completely inconsistent with our values. We don’t tolerate harassment of any kind.
It’s incredibly important to us to create and maintain a work environment that is safe, comfortable and inclusive for everyone. Our people are our greatest asset as a company, and we take great pride in our strong culture and reputation as a best place to work.
