Current and Former Carta Financial Tech Company Workers Allege Workplace Retaliation

Financial tech start-up company, Carta, intended to transform the way workers get paid. The company believed working for a paycheck was an evolution of indentured servitude and serfdom that needed to change. Carta believed the next evolution was employees owning a stake in their companies – they wanted to create more “owners.” 

Do What I Say Not What I Do: Did Carta Actually Treat Employees Like “Owners”?

While Carta openly declared their “ownership for all” theory, its standard operating procedures didn’t seem to reflect the published mission. The company allegedly acted inequitably to a large number of their 838 employees. Current and former employees of the hot Silicon Valley company say that if they spoke up about workplace problems, they were belittled, excluded, and disciplined. The experience was nothing short of workplace retaliation.

Workplace Retaliation: Employees Who Complain See Negative Response

When an employee voices a concern about the workplace or their job environment, some employers respond negatively. Carta employees claim the company responded by making the employee who spoke up feel like they were at fault for their own mistreatment. Speaking up at Carta allegedly resulted in being sidelined, demoted or passed over for deserved promotions, or even seeing a cut in hours or pay cut. One woman was fired after she had an emotional outburst in a meeting. Another woman was pushed out of the company after she voiced regulatory concerns. 

Former Carta Fintech Workers Push Back: 

Some of the former Carta employees are pushing back. Three different former employees sued Carta in the last year alleging wrongful termination, one of which was the former top operations executive. Last month, a former Carta marketing executive, Emily Kramer, sued Carta alleging gender pay discrimination and retaliation. According to Ms. Kramer’s lawsuit (and other other lawsuits), Mr. Ward set the tone at the company by denigrating employees and being dismissive of valid concerns. Ward’s blunt management style generated loyalty with some, but alienated others.  

Carta’s Workplace Experience Directly at Odds with Their Public Crusade Seeking Fairness for Workers

The group of current and former Carta employees involved in the lawsuit insist that the workplace they experienced at Carta was directly opposed to the fintech start-up’s crusade seeking fairness for workers and more equality in the workplace for women. Mr. Ward founded the Palo Alto, California start-up, Carta, in 2012 (initially calling the company eShares). Carta software is used by many investors, start-ups, and employees to manage, issue and value their equity with Carta receiving a fee for the use of the valuation systems. 

If you need to discuss workplace discrimination or if you need to file a wrongful termination lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in any one of various law firm offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.