Another ex-Zillow employee sues for alleged harassment

UPDATED 10:50 a.m., December 5: On the heels of a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by Zillow, another former employee of the firm claims she was fired after checking into a hospital following a car accident.

Jennifer Young, a 41-year-old single mother, claims she was promised a leadership role at the online real estate data company with a six-figure salary, according to Valleywag.

Instead, she says she was harassed about her age by her superiors and allegedly fired after checking into a hospital.

“Ms. Young was quickly exposed to Zillow’s ‘frat house’ and ‘boys club culture’ where binge drinking and the willingness to participate in lewd discourse was rewarded by lucrative assignments in the form of Zillow managers routing incoming calls for potential sales leads,” the lawsuit, which was filed in California, states.

“Ms. Young’s sales manager would make comments to her during the course of her work day such as ‘are you too old to close?’ and ‘try to keep up with us.’ It was commonplace at the Zillow office for managers to inform employees, including Ms. Young, that if you do not “drink the Zillow kool-aid” there would be no opportunity for career advancement,” the lawsuit further states, according to the website.

“It is clear that the narrative being pushed by this law firm through their multiple lawsuits is completely inconsistent with those who know and work with Zillow,” a Zillow spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “We take any allegation about our workplace very seriously and are investigating these claims. We don’t tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind. Our people are our greatest asset.  The behavior described does not accurately depict our culture or the 1,200 Zillow employees who work hard and treat each other with dignity and respect.  It’s incredibly important to us to create and maintain a work environment that is safe, comfortable and inclusive for everyone.”

Earlier this week, former employee Rachel Kremer sued Zillow for alleged sexual harassment from managers in the California office.

The latest suit also claims that Young lost her job when she went to the hospital to get treatment for injuries sustained in a car accident. As a result, she was allegedly fired for “job abandonment” while she was still in the hospital, the website reported.

Zillow has been valued at $4.5 billion. In July, the listings website bought its chief rival Trulia for $3.5 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Zillow went public in 2011 and its share price has quadrupled since the beginning of 2013. Last year, the site bought StreetEasy for $50 million. [Valleywag] — Claire Moses