Former PlayStation employee Emma Majo is again attempting to sue the company for gender discrimination after her initial lawsuit against the console maker was dismissed by a federal judge.
The previous lawsuit was largely dismissed due to a lack of “specific facts,” with U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler explaining that Majo failed to “describe her work or how her work was substantially equal to the work of any male allegedly paid more than she was paid.”
Majo was attempting to sue PlayStation for allegedly terminating her employment after she filed HR complaints over “discrimination against females” relating to unequal pay. Although many of her claims were dismissed, Judge Beeler said Majo could bring them back with more specific details.
She has now done precisely that, and as reported by Axios has filed a narrower complaint that seeks damages for women below the vice president level at PlayStation’s California locations — as opposed to the first suit, which sought damages on a national scale.
The new lawsuit contains allegations from Majo — many of which appeared in the first lawsuit — and other former and current women employees who describe being passed up for promotions at PlayStation while men in the same departments advanced, experiences of unequal pay, and discrimination in the form of dismissive comments about the abilities of women.
The suit claims PlayStation has a “systemic pattern and practice of gender discrimination” that has caused those women involved harm including “lost compensation, back pay, employment benefits, and emotional distress.” It also accuses PlayStation of breaching California’s Equal Pay Act.
Sony will now be allowed to reply to those claims, which have previously been described by PlayStation’s legal team as “unactionable allegations.”