The former co-founder of dental office revenue management software firm Zentist has sued her former employer, claiming she was forced out and replaced with a male employee when she took maternity leave during the birth of her child.
On March 11, plaintiff Paulina Song, who formerly served as business development lead at Zentist, filed a lawsuit against Zentist in San Francisco County Superior Court. The lawsuit also names as a defendant Zentist CEO Atoullokhon Kasymov.
The lawsuit accuses the defendants of pregnancy discrimination, sex and gender discrimination, retaliation, whistleblower retaliation, wrongful termination, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Song claims that after working four years to help build and lead Zentist, she was stripped of her job duties following the birth of her child. She further alleges that the CEO refused to meet with her to discuss her treatment and prevented her from leaving the company gracefully.
Before taking maternity leave in December 2021 through February 2022, the complaint alleges Song had helped grow the team from two to 200 members and raised over $8 million in Series A funding. Upon returning from leave in May 2023, she allegedly found that her position had been given to a former billing operations manager. She allegedly was also excluded from executive leadership meetings and eventually terminated on May 15, 2023.
The lawsuit seeks a host of damages for the alleged conduct, including back and front pay, exemplary damages and punitive damages, plus attorney fees.