Netflix Settles With Executive Claiming Widespread Harassment

Netflix has just settled a lawsuit with a former HR employee regarding the latter's claims that the streaming giant was consistently "tolerating harassment and discrimination."

THR reports that Barry Coleman worked for Netflix for just a few months in 2016 before being fired. After being let go, Coleman sued the company for a number of things, including the fact that Netflix had an unwritten policy of "tolerating harassment and discrimination" by the higher-level executives. He claimed that Netflix's "veneer of a perfect disruptive, progressive" business is just a facade.

Netflix has refuted Coleman's claims, but still reached a settlement with the former employee. Recently, his $1.5 million in claims were settled with the company, requiring him to stay quiet about the issue.

According to Coleman, he was offered the job as HR director back in December 2015. Just after speaking with Barbie Graver, VP of Talent for Netflix, Coleman learned that his son had been murdered in Colorado. He told the company that he was experiencing depression and ongoing trauma from the tragedy, but Netflix still gave him the job and a $500,000 per year salary, and Graver told him that he could "work at half your normal speed for the first six months."

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However, as Coleman stated in his complaint, he was harassed and ostracized for not doing things the "Netflix way." Coleman also alleged that a male superior in Netflix's talent group made romantic advances toward him, beginning in April 2016.

When Coleman took his issue to Graver, she allegedly told him that sometimes executives in the company will make inappropriate sexual remarks and that she was "cool" with it.

In May, Graver took a new position and her replacement apparently had no interest in facilitating Coleman's psychological needs, and he was soon fired.

When Coleman filed the lawsuit in September, Netflix launched its own investigation into his claims. The company said that his termination was due to several months of inadequate performance and that the superior who had supposedly harassed Coleman was merely trying to get to know his colleague.

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When THR reached out to Netflix regarding the story, this was the company's response:

"Coleman was employed at Netflix for less than five months and was terminated for performance issues. He raised his claims only after termination. The company investigated them and found them to be baseless. The company resolved the matter before arbitration for approximately the standard severance Coleman was entitled to for being terminated."