A former DraftKings employee is suing the firm for allegedly terminating her employment after requesting maternity leave.
According to court records filed in Massachusetts Superior Court, Arun Venkateswaran is suing DraftKings for $250,000 in damages after being reportedly fired for seeking to take advantage of the company’s parental leave policy. Venkateswaran, a former Senior Lead Engineer, was fired in 2023 after being hired a year earlier.
Venkateswaran is considering legal action against DraftKings following a positive year-end assessment. Following the review, Venkateswaran informed his manager that his wife was pregnant, just before a coworker with comparable responsibilities departed. The resignation came a month after Venkateswaran informed DraftKings about his wife’s pregnancy.
Venkateswaran informed his boss of his child’s projected due date of September 28, 2023, and then requested the full sixteen weeks of paid leave given by DraftKings’ private parental leave program.
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Venkateswaran was terminated a day after filing the request, and he was apparently not given any written paperwork stating why. In 2023, a mid-year performance report revealed Venkateswaran “partially” exceeded high expectations, while another employee on the engineer’s team earned a poorer mid-year review.
Venkateswaran is suing DraftKings over his termination for breaches of paid leave medical retaliation/interference, sick leave retaliation, breach of implied duty of good faith and fair dealing, and breach of contract. Venkateswaran claims that his departure from DraftKings resulted in adverse employment actions, including a loss of salary, benefits, personal and professional reputation, and emotional suffering.
Venkateswaran contends that his parental leave request is protected by Massachusetts employment regulations, but he feels DraftKings is responding in retribution.
Venkateswaran, who is represented by the Boston legal firm Duddy, Godwin & Pollard, has asked a jury trial to resolve the matter. SBC Americas reached out to DraftKings for comment on the problem, but the operator has yet to react.
DraftKings is facing further legal challenges.
The Boston-based corporation is facing its newest action after submitting a move to dismiss a New York District Court lawsuit filed against it by the NFL Players Association (NFLPA).
The request to dismiss comes as the NFLPA says DraftKings breached the conditions of a contract to license player photos for items in DraftKings’ NFT Marketplace.
DraftKings claims that the termination of its agreement “exceeds the limitation of liability.”
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