3 claims made by former BlackBerry employee against CEO dismissed by U.S. judge

A U.S. court has dismissed three claims made by a former BlackBerry Ltd. employee who alleges the company's chief executive sexually harassed her and then retaliated against her after she reported the behaviour.

U.S. magistrate Judge Sallie Kim granted BlackBerry and John Giamatteo's request late Friday to throw out a claim that they fostered a "hostile" work environment because the former employee failed to present evidence that BlackBerry and Giamatteo's behaviour was pervasive or severe.

The judge also dismissed claims the former employee made about alleged discrimination in its pay practices and its ability to promptly issue wages, saying the plaintiff failed to state a claim.

While the judge said the United States District Court for the Northern District of California "largely agrees" with BlackBerry, she said it would allow the plaintiff to amend her complaint to provide additional details supporting her sexual harassment and pay allegations against Giamatteo and the Waterloo, Ont.-based tech company.

BlackBerry spokesperson Anthony Harrison says the company was pleased to see the court's ruling and looks forward to "vigorously defending" itself against the remainder of the plaintiff's claims, which he says are "unfounded."

Maria Bourn, a lawyer representing the plaintiff, said her client had no comment, but added, "It is clear that within the United States women are not paid fairly and that is the case here."

"The main issues within the case regarding gender discrimination and retaliation remain," she wrote in an email.

Claim filed in April

The plaintiff, known in court documents as Jane Doe, is a woman of colour who worked at BlackBerry for more than 10 years.

She filed a claim against the company and Giamatteo in April, alleging the chief executive had "tried to get close to her" and "woo" her, after he became the president of BlackBerry's cybersecurity business in October 2021.

Shortly after landing that role, she alleges Giamatteo suggested the pair travel together and at a dinner she understood to be a business meeting, allegedly told her stories about how he dresses up when he's out with his daughters so people mistake him for "a dirty old man" out on a date with them.

Once the plaintiff reported the behaviour, she found she was excluded from meetings and heard Giamatteo had started telling staff he wanted to get her "out."

The company attempted to address her complaint by creating more separation between Giamatteo and the plaintiff's roles, but when John Chen left the chief executive role and Giamatteo was being considered as his replacement, she said she reported his behaviour again.

Later, she said she was told she was being terminated effective immediately as part of a "restructuring."

Giamatteo and BlackBerry have fought her claims, saying she lost her job not because she reported harassment, but because she was part of a layoff that culled more than 200 staff from the firm as it was separating its cybersecurity and internet of things businesses.

Previous filings the company and Giamatteo made say the plaintiff's position fit into neither segment of the business and they felt she "alienated virtually all of her peers through years of rude and divisive conduct."

When the plaintiff first filed her claims, she told The Canadian Press she was pursuing legal action because she felt if she was "silenced," it wouldn't help other women.

"I feel like I have a responsibility, particularly having been at the executive level, to help other women, whether that is other women in BlackBerry or in the industry or broader than that," she said in April.

"I am hoping that if they can hear my story, that will help give them strength."