According to Variety, Steven van Soeren, a former Disney Streaming Services employee, is now suing the Walt Disney Company “alleging that he was the target of discrimination and harassment over his new parental status.” van Soeren also claims that Disney hacked into his home computer to learn personal details about himself and his family status.
van Soeren was a product designer for Disney until he was fired on May 6, 2019. On November 6, 2019, a lawsuit was filed with the federal district court in New York City for damages from emotional distress.
The former Disney employee is claiming that he was discriminated against for his spouse’s pregnancy among other things. Strangely van Soeren claims he never disclosed his spouse’s pregnancy to anyone at work, and that the only possible way for them to have acquired this information would be for have been to have “hacked into his home PC.”
van Soeren alleges that in “an unrelated conversation” the director of UX and design Brian McConnell, “blurted out to van Soeren, ‘maybe you shouldn’t have a kid.’”
Disney has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Credit: Variety
