BlackBerry CEO John Giamatteo Accused of Sexual Harassment in Lawsuit Filed Former Employee in US District Court: Report

California, April 6: John Giamatteo was appointed BlackBerry CEO on December 11, 2024, and is now facing sexual assault charges from California-based women. As per a report, a woman from California filed a lawsuit against BlackBerry CEO John Giamatteo for sexually harassing her and retaliating against her after she reported the incident. As per a report, the complaint was filed by a woman of colour who worked in a tech company based in Waterloo, Ontario. 

According to a report by CBC, the complainant worked at a Waterloo-based tech company for a decade. The report said that she worked in senior roles in the company. Now, she reportedly alleged that the firm's members of the leadership ranks knew about the complaints when John Giamatteo was appointed in December 2023. As per the report, the women filed the lawsuit in a U.S. district court on April 3 (Wednesday) before the tech company announced its fourth-quarter earnings. Alexa Monkey Attack: Anand Mahindra Offers Job to Girl Who Saved Herself and Her Younger Sister From Monkey Attack Using Alexa.

The report said that the woman, known as "Jane Doe" in the court documents, alleged John Giamatteo about her treatment at BlackBerry. She said it violated the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the U.S. Labour Code, resulting in a "wrongful" termination. Although these allegations about the sexual harassment by BlackBerry's CEO are severe enough, the report said that they have not been proven right in court. BlackBerry also said these allegations were "without merit." 

BlackBerry found "no evidence of wrongdoing or violations of the company code of conduct." The company said it maintains a respectful and productive work environment without tolerating, condoning, or ignoring workplace discrimination or harassment. On the other hand, the woman alleged she was derailed. She said John asked her to travel with him and invited her to dinner, but it did not come across as a professional business dinner. She also said that John threatened her. Lok Sabha Election 2024: India Takes Tough Stand at AI-Generated Content and Deepfakes Following Microsoft's Warning About China’s Plan To Sabotage Polls.

On December 4, the complainant was terminated as a part of the restructuring, and she felt "shocked and numb" over her termination and John's appointment as CEO. She reportedly took legal action because she felt she was "silenced". She said he would hope her story could be heard.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 06, 2024 05:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).