The former household manager for the Zuckerberg/Chan household claims he was groped and propositioned during his time on staff.

The Case: John Doe v. Zuckerberg, Chan, MPPR Associates LLC, et al

The Court: Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco, Central

The Case No.:CGC-21-595337

The Plaintiff: John Doe v. Zuckerberg, Chan, MPPR Associates LLC, et al

John Doe, as the plaintiff is referred to in the court documents, is the former household manager for Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. Doe filed suit against the billionaire couple and a string of family-related corporate entities claiming employment law violations. Doe, an openly gay man, worked as the Household Operations Manager for the family from January 2017 to March 2019.

The Defendant: John Doe v. Zuckerberg, Chan, MPPR Associates LLC, et al

The defendants in the case are Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, along with numerous family-related corporate entities.

The Case: John Doe v. Zuckerberg, Chan, MPPR Associates LLC, et al

John Doe’s lawsuit makes similar allegations as those made in Mia King v. Zuckerberg, Chan, et al. Doe claims he was subjected to a repeated pattern of discrimination and harassment at the hands of his senior managers and senior personnel at MPPR. Discrimination and harassment were allegedly based on Doe’s sex, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and medical condition. In his job as household operations manager, Doe was responsible for managing various properties for the family. Doe personalized each hotel, property and residence according to Zuckerberg's specified aesthetic and comfort preferences. In summary, his job duties included travel, cataloging furniture, performing various household tasks, and completing menial labor tasks on different Zuckerberg family properties. According to the lawsuit, Doe was often subjected to sexual harassment from those in supervisory positions. For example, according to the allegations, at an MPPR hosted event at a sushi venue, the man made an explicit gesture to Doe with his food, slapped Doe’s groin when he walked by, and ignored Doe’s requests to stop - instead responding by groping Doe. Other alleged harassing activities and communications are outlined in the court documents as well. While the harassment occurred regularly in front of other employees, managers, and agents of MPPR, the company did nothing to stop the negative behaviors, investigate the harassment or protect Doe from future incidents. Doe also claims that he was required to work as many as 17 hours a day with no overtime compensation, despite classification as an hourly employee, there were few or no breaks for rest periods or meals, and his epilepsy was not taken into consideration by supervisors when the long hours without breaks began to have a negative effect on the condition and Doe advised them of the situation. He also advised his supervisors that it was dangerous to require him to carry heavy loads or climb ladders considering his medical condition, but allegedly no compensation was made for his disabilities. When Doe took his complaints to HR he claims they were categorized as gossip and he was brought to task for insubordination.

If you have questions about California employment law or if you need to file a discrimination or harassment lawsuit, please get in touch with Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Experienced employment law attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices located in San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Chicago.