SAN JOSE - A former Apple executive accused the company of age discrimination and harassment, according to a Feb. 4 lawsuit filed in the Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Plaintiff Bernadette Alexander is an African American executive more than 50 years old who worked in national and global leadership roles with the tech giant, Apple.
In the lawsuit, Alexander said she encountered another Apple executive, Ed Tharp, who she accuses of a series of discriminatory actions based on age. Alexander says that Tharp has a blatant history of choosing less qualified employees for promotions solely because they were younger than more qualified counterparts and pressured Alexander to do the same.
Tharp allegedly told Alexander that his younger team could "run circles around" her older one and told her she needed to transfer out of her demanding leadership role when she had been with the company for 10 years.
The plaintiff says her experiences with the executive were corroborated and shared with other leaders.
Alexander sued Apple for age discrimination and harassment, failure to take steps to prevent and/or correct harassment and discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking at least $25,000 in damages.
The plaintiff is represented by Winer, Burritt and Scott LLP.