Mark Zuckerberg, wife named in racial, sexual harassment lawsuits filed against ex-aide by ex-household staff
The lawsuits come as the tech CEO is already under scrutiny for Facebook's business practices
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Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan have been sued by two former household workers who allege sexual harassment and racial discrimination from a former aide, according to reports.
The first lawsuit against the Facebook CEO and his spouse was brought by Mia King, a former security operations assistant for the couple, who alleged sex and racial discrimination by former head of security Liam Booth, including claims that Booth called her "ghetto" and that he had to hire a Black woman because of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, according to Business Insider, which first reported the lawsuits.
The initiative says its mission is to "build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone."
The second lawsuit was brought by a former household operations manager identified only as John Doe in the filing. Doe claimed Booth made anti-gay remarks to the openly gay man and slapped his groin area once during a work event and groped his bottom at a separate time. Doe also claimed accommodations were not made for his disability.
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The complainants also claimed they were retaliated against for their allegations.
Booth resigned in 2019 after the claims surfaced, according to FOX 2 of the Bay Area.
Both complainants also alleged they weren’t given all their legal work breaks and didn't receive all of their overtime pay.
The lawsuits were filed last month in San Francisco County, according to Insider.
Zuckerberg and Chan have denied the allegations and said they have been thoroughly investigated and no wrongdoing was found.
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg are seen in Mountain View, California, Nov. 3, 2019. (Getty Images / Getty Images)
"As we previously stated when these claims were anonymously leaked to the media over two years ago, our family office follows a strict code of conduct that requires appropriate behavior from all members of our teams," Zuckerberg’s personal spokesman Ben LaBolt told Insider. "It is our expectation that each of our employees adheres to this code of conduct. Any complaint made to our HR personnel is taken seriously and is investigated and addressed. We are proud of the team of professionals who work in the family office and are confident that these claims, which seek to unfairly disparage our colleagues, will fail.
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"The family office takes complaints of workplace misconduct very seriously and promptly investigates all such matters. In this case, almost all of the allegations in these complaints were first raised through counsel, after both employees had left the company, and in connection with significant monetary demands.
"Nevertheless, when their lawyers shared these concerns, both our HR Department and outside counsel conducted separate multi-week investigations into the allegations, including by conducting numerous interviews of their colleagues and reviewing other relevant documents and information. Following these thorough investigations, these allegations simply could not be substantiated. We firmly believe that these employees were treated fairly and respectfully and the family office is confident that it will defeat these claims."
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Booth, other senior staffers, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Iconiq Capital, a wealth management company, are also named in the lawsuits, according to Insider.
The lawsuits come as the tech CEO is already under scrutiny for Facebook's business practices that whistleblower Frances Haugen claims are "harmful" to children and democracy.