New court documents filed in a lawsuit against BlackBerry Ltd. allege at least three women were fired after reporting the technology firm had a “boys’ club” culture.
The documents were filed in support of former BlackBerry chief marketing officer Neelam Sandhu, who launched a lawsuit against the Waterloo, Ont.-based cybersecurity firm and chief executive officer John Giamatteo in April 2024.
She alleges Giamatteo sexually harassed her and then retaliated against her after she reported his behaviour to BlackBerry’s human resources team and executives. She was later let go and told it was part of a restructuring.
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BlackBerry and Giamatteo have argued Sandhu’s previous claims have no merit, are filled with “falsehoods and mischaracterizations” and “fall well short of conduct that amounts to sexual harassment or discrimination.”
The company said it will explain there’s no evidence of any retaliation or discrimination in a reply it expects to file next week. “The plaintiff’s claims have no merit and BlackBerry is confident its motion will be granted,” the company added.
None of the allegations in the court filings have been tested in court.
A judge has already tossed out Sandhu’s hostile work environment and wage discrimination claims but her gender discrimination, retaliation and whistleblower retaliation claims remain before a U.S. court.
On Monday, Sandhu’s lawyers tried to bolster her case by alleging at least three other women had made complaints about BlackBerry’s “toxic” culture only to be fired. The lawyers argue the women were dismissed for speaking up but say the company has claimed their departures were part of corporate cost-cutting.
“The pattern is unmistakable: women who participated in investigations or made complaints . . . were terminated under the guise of a ‘restructuring’ while the accused men suffered no consequences,” the lawyers argue in a document fighting BlackBerry’s request for a summary judgment.
Summary judgments are requested by parties in legal disputes who want a court to rule in their favour without having a full trial.
The documents from Sandhu’s lawyers say that in October 2023, around the time long-time BlackBerry CEO John Chen announced his retirement, an anonymous complaint was filed by a collective of about 10 women.
The anonymous complaint alleged Giamatteo, who wasn’t yet named as Chen’s successor but was well on the path to becoming his replacement, made “sexually suggestive and aggressive comments towards women.” It also accused him of making “loosely veiled threats” about his alleged influence and reach within the industry, the documents say.
BlackBerry retained Morrison & Foerster to investigate.
The court filing said the international law firm eventually recommended BlackBerry conduct a workplace culture survey and a pay equity audit, review the impact of reductions in force on women, improve dialogue between leadership and employees, provide implicit bias training and designate a diversity, equity and inclusion officer.
The filing from Sandhu’s lawyers alleges the company’s chief of government affairs, who was female, participated in the investigation and discussed her concerns with Giamatteo.
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The executive called BlackBerry a challenging place for women and noted the lack of strong representation at the top ranks of the company was felt throughout the organization, the documents say.
She was eventually terminated by Giamatteo and received a separation agreement worth more than US$1.3 million, the filing from Sandhu’s lawyers say.
Another woman, a former BlackBerry senior vice-president who spent 20 years at the company, similarly was fired from the company in December 2023 after making formal complaints to the company’s human resources department about “toxic” culture and non-inclusive comments, the documents say.
Another woman in a senior position, who was eventually fired from BlackBerry by Giamatteo, said in her deposition that under his leadership women’s roles were greatly diminished. Men he allegedly hired were given more responsibility whether they had the criteria or experience in that role and were held to different standards, she said.
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Other women said there’s probably more people named John in leadership than women and reported women being left out of meetings and being given less desirable base pay and compensation split arrangements than male counterparts, according to the filings.
The testimony is meant to give credence to arguments from Sandhu, who joined BlackBerry in England in 2009 and rose through its ranks until her dismissal in December 2023.
She has alleged Giamatteo, who became the president of BlackBerry’s cybersecurity business in October 2021 and CEO in December 2023, invited her to dinner, “touched her hand in what she felt was a caress” and tried to put his arm around her waist.
After she reported the behaviour to Chen, who she said told her the conduct was “very disturbing,” Sandhu alleges she was cut out of meetings by Giamatteo. She alleges Giamatteo then threatened her by telling her “it is important that you be nice to me, as I know a lot of people in the industry/have a large network so it could impact you negatively if you are not nice to me.”
Documents Sandhu’s lawyers filed say Richard Curiale, a lawyer BlackBerry sometimes used, was hired to investigate her claims. He had looked into at least three complaints Sandhu had made to the company before and this time, found that Giamatteo’s team tried to avoid Sandhu “to every extent they possibly can.”
When Giamatteo was on the verge of being named CEO, Sandhu was told she was being terminated immediately as part of a restructuring.
BlackBerry says she lost her job because she was part of a layoff that culled more than 200 staff from the firm as separated its cybersecurity and ‘internet of things’ businesses.
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