Fired executive files $20 million discrimination lawsuit against San Jose tech firm
SAN JOSE, Calif. - A $20 million discrimination lawsuit has been filed against a San Jose tech firm. A former employee says he was fired after speaking up about bias against Asians.
Andre Wong said he worked for Lumentum for 20 years and in that time, he was repeatedly passed over for management positions he was qualified for. His attorney says this case isn't just about one man, but it's about work place discrimination against Asian Americans in Silicon Valley.
"As that product line grew, I found myself reporting to a series of white managers, all of whom I had to train and introduce to my set of contacts," Wong said.
Wong said over the last 20 years, he developed a facial recognition product that created nearly a billion dollars in revenue for San Jose-based tech firm Lumentum. But in 2021 as vice president of product management, he created an Asian employee resource group to address their concerns, and said shortly thereafter, he was fired.
"So I know there are a lot of Asian Americans experiencing discrimination, but they don’t feel they have a voice. They tolerate having a double standard, or having to work longer, or having more experience than their white colleagues to get promoted," Wong said.
Wong said about 60% of Lumentum’s workforce is Asian, many from China, and Asians account for 15% of management. Wong’s attorney says with the $20 million lawsuit against Lumentum, they hope to challenge companies to address workplace discrimination against Asians in Silicon Valley.
"Where the experience of Asian Americans actually is, we’re good enough for the middle, or the factory floor, but almost never good enough to lead a company." said Charles Jung, an Attorney with Nassiri & Jung, LLP.
Jung said Asians at Lumentum also endured jokes about workers cooking rice on the factory floor, and they were prohibited from speaking Mandarin even among themselves.
"In the complaint, when Andre and other ERG or Asian ERG Employee Resource members put on an event to talk about their experiences, one piece of feedback they received was they made White people feel bad," Jung said.
Wong said if he wins, the majority of the proceeds will go to fund Asian American civil rights causes. We reached out to Lumentum for comment, but they didn’t respond in time for this report.
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