Warner Bros. Exec Blows Whistle on Pregnancy Discrimination

An ex-manager at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. alleges in an updated lawsuit that following her maternity leave in 2023, a woman superior sidelined her and humiliated her in public.

In her amended filing with the Los Angeles Superior Court, Kimberly Grande has accused her former employer of wrongful termination, as well as sexual and pregnancy discrimination, along with retaliatory actions. She is seeking undisclosed amounts for both compensatory and punitive damages. The initial lawsuit was submitted in April 2024, followed by an updated complaint on April 10th.

In earlier legal filings, lawyers for Warner argued that Grande's lawsuit lacks allegations of factual evidence showing that the defendants took actions primarily driven by gender discrimination. They also asserted that the majority of her claims ought to be thrown out.

In July 2021, Grande was brought onboard as a senior product manager and she served at the company's office in Burbank. According to the lawsuit, her initial rapport with her superior was positive; he frequently consulted the plaintiff for insights and guidance on various initiatives. However, after informing her overseer about her pregnancy in December 2021, tensions arose between them, leading to difficulties in maintaining harmony, as claimed in the legal filing.

Following Grande’s request for maternity and bonding leave, she found herself sidelined from crucial workplace conversations and tasks by her supervisor. The lawsuit claims that this same manager openly ridiculed the plaintiff at an April 2022 team gathering, remarking sarcastically about how they would love to take a four-month "holiday" similar to what Grande received.

When Grande came back from her maternity and baby-bonding leave in October, she discovered that she had been taken off every project she had initially been assigned to, as stated in the lawsuit. The legal document further claims that she wasn’t allowed to regain her previous team members and found herself sidelined from crucial discussions and recruitment choices once more.

Grande was instructed to begin working at the Burbank office instead of remotely, despite having earlier notified management and obtained approval to work from her newly acquired home in Seattle, according to the lawsuit.

When the plaintiff highlighted that two male coworkers were permitted to work from home, her objections were ignored, and she was dismissed for failing to return to the Burbank office in September 2023, according to the lawsuit.

Grande’s manager attempted to substitute her with another male employee who was working remotely. However, upon hearing this decision, colleagues at the firm alerted the higher-ups about the negative impression it would create for her. Consequently, the offer was withdrawn as stated in the lawsuit.

Grande’s previous supervisor is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which claims that the plaintiff has experienced substantial economic and emotional harm.