Meta rehired former staffer who stalked, sexually harassed co-worker: lawsuit
A former Meta staffer who was placed on a “Do Not Hire” and “No Entry” list after stalking and sexually harassing a fellow male co-worker was rehired by the tech company after its recruitment department was downsized, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.
The complaint filed in New York Supreme Court accused Meta of violating New York City’s human rights law by rehiring the former staffer and subjecting the plaintiff to further harassment.
The suit also claimed Meta retaliated by removing the plaintiff from important projects after he contacted Meta’s Human Resources about his alleged stalker getting rehired.
“I had spoken to my employer about this…on numerous occasions and I was told that he would not be able to enter our offices, that he would not be hired again, and then like, all of a sudden, this guy is reaching out to me [on Meta’s internal messaging system],” James Napoli, who works at Meta’s New York City office as a marketing leader, told CNBC.
Meta declined to comment.
The lawsuit comes after a series of layoffs at Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger.
In March 2023, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the company would be restructuring and cutting a total of 21,000 jobs over time.
The layoffs faced criticism for clogging up some of Meta’s teams – particularly customer service and fact-checking.
Its recruitment department has also suffered, according to the lawsuit. The company is relying “more heavily on hiring employees through outside contractors” and employs “far fewer recruiters to screen applicants,” Napoli’s attorneys wrote in the suit.
“Meta’s employment practices are apparently so chaotic, reckless, and ineffectual that the company fails to keep track of the most fundamental data point in its workplace – the dangerous people who pose a severe risk to Meta’s own employees,” the lawsuit said.
“Yet Meta tells the public and public officials that the company has the ability to safeguard the personal data of billions of children and adults on their platforms.”
The co-worker accused of stalking Napoli – referred to as “G.F.” in the complaint – worked on Meta’s marketing team. He was laid off in 2022 when the company slashed 13% of its workforce.
G.F and Napoli saw each other at work prior to the layoffs, but were just “work acquaintances,” Napoli said.
After G.F. was let go, he asked Napoli if they could get together over a cup of coffee – and Napoli was shocked by his “disturbing conduct,” the filing said.
“I need you to know that God talks to me and he’s been talking to me about you since April,” G.F. allegedly told Napoli.
Almost immediately, Napoli reported his concerns about G.F. – who had been sending him up to 30 messages a day – to Meta’s Human Resources department and his managers.
Over the next nine months, G.F.’s harassment only intensified, the complaint claimed.
G.F. contacted Napoli’s sister and claimed Napoli was in the hospital to try to gain more information, the lawsuit said.
He wrote Napoli letters and messages mentioning his partner, family members and dog by name, the suit said.
“I am being tortured with an A.I. tech which I don’t know where it’s coming from and I am feeling like my love for you is being used for experiences I didn’t agree for, while I am being told by spirits that you and I are the two messengers,” Napoli wrote in one message, according to the suit.
After G.F. discovered Napoli’s home address, he left a “large ream of disturbing writings and drawings” at his home, the suit said.
“I was worried about going out, I was worried about my dog, I was worried about my partner, because they were all mentioned by this person,” Napoli told CNBC.
Napoli again reported the harassment to Meta after he received 20 messages, phone calls and emails threatening himself, his partner and his dog, the suit said.
He considered getting a restraining order, but was unable to do so under New York state law since he did not have an intimate or familial relationship with his stalker, according to the suit.
In September 2023, Meta’s HR department assured Napoli that “he was safe at work” and G.F. was on both a “Do Not Hire” list and a “No Entry” list prohibiting him from entering company buildings.
But Meta rehired his stalker just four months later, which Napoli discovered when he received a message from G.F. on the company’s internal messaging system, the suit said.
G.F. — who had been rehired by Meta through a contractor — said he would be seeing Napoli soon at work meetings, the suit claimed.
A month later, Meta told Napoli that G.F. had been fired again – and then the harassment “dramatically increased” with “threats of revenge and sexual violence” after G.F. realized Napoli’s concerns had led to his firing, the suit said.
The lawsuit also claimed Napoli endured retaliation after he brought up his concerns about G.F. a second time. The company allegedly took him off important projects and gave him a negative performance review, the suit said.
Napoli is asking for unspecified damages, and for the court to prohibit Meta from rehiring G.F. again or acting in retaliation.
