Netflix hit by sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit over mandatory vaccination

The former senior risk management manager at Netflix is ​​suing the streamer over a variety of allegations ranging from sexual harassment and discrimination to retaliatory termination and the now-repealed Covid vaccination requirement.

“Combs claims the real reason for her termination was retaliation for her outspokenness and numerous complaints about Netflix’s oppressive, sexually motivated ‘curiosity’ culture,” says the 10-count lawsuit filed today by Jessica Combs in Los Angeles Superior Court. “Her willingness to voice her opinions marked her as an employee who was not acting in Netflix’s best interests; an employee who was neither a good team player nor a good fit,” says the jury trial document about Combs, who was at the streamer from May 2017 to December 2021.

The 28-page lawsuit cites Netflix’s human resources department’s “lack of care” toward her and a colleague, who were left with “emotional scars,” and an incident that was “a direct result of the culture of sexuality promoted by the streamer co-founded by Reed Hastings.” Combs says she is seeking a range of unspecified damages for the former executive, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee. The suit mocks “sexually dancing drag queens” in the main cafeteria at Netflix’s LA headquarters during PRIDE month and the company’s apparent routine of “drinking alcohol while working,” adding: Combs claims this sexually oriented culture at Netflix caters to “male sex offenders.”

Yet—and this is obviously a lot—these allegations are not the real crux of Combs’ complaint.

The byproduct of Covid-19 is that Combs applied for and received standing to sue from the California Civil Rights Office in August 2023. Less than a week before that standing to sue against Netflix was set to expire, the former Warner Bros employee had to take the step and reopen that wound of allegedly rejected religious dispensation and severance terms.

Around October 2021, COMBS requested that Netflix allow her to provide negative COVID-19 test results if needed because her request to opt out on religious grounds was denied. Netflix did not allow COMBS to provide negative test results in lieu of vaccinations.

It was also on or about October 2021 that Combs, in an effort to comply with Netflix’s unjustified vaccination requirements while defending her religious and moral beliefs, asked Netflix to allow her to relocate her official office location from Los Angeles to London, where she was already doing significant work for Netflix. This request, too, was denied.

Around November 2021, COMBS sent an email to Netflix executives denouncing the vaccine mandate and the company’s discriminatory practices regarding diversity and inclusion; COMBS never received a response to that email.

Around November 2021, Netflix notified COMBS that because she had moved to Tennessee (with prior approval from Netflix) and was working from home, she was not eligible for a raise for “location-based pay.” But oddly enough, had COMBS stayed in Los Angeles (as a remote worker during COVID), she would have incredibly increased her pay by 20% prior to receiving this notice.

On November 15, 2021, Netflix’s human resources department sent COMBS a termination letter. The termination notice stated that the reason for COMBS’ termination was her violation of a “reasonable employer rule,” i.e., failure to get a COVID vaccination. Notably, courts later ruled that such requirements were not lawful. COMBS’ stated reason for termination was fictitious.

In the termination letter, Jessica was offered severance pay of four months’ salary if she would release Netflix from all claims. COMBS refused to sign the agreement. Notably, as of November 2021, COMBS had already been working at the director level for over three years – since 2018 – because the team had no acting director. During the pandemic, COMBS became head of risk management and the highest-ranking team member. But Netflix never paid COMBS for her “director-level” work. COMBS claims and believes that directors receive severance pay of six months’ salary upon termination, not four. This is further evidence of Netflix’s intentional and malicious actions to wrongfully fire COMBS by offering her unacceptable terms for her severance package.

The lawsuit filed by Rancho Santa Margarita-based attorney Michael CP Clark also sharply criticizes the streamer for seemingly putting conformity above anything other than profit.

“Netflix denied COMBS’s application for unemployment benefits because she would not sign the severance agreement,” the lawsuit states. “COMBS claims that the denial of her unemployment benefits is further evidence of Netflix’s willful and malicious nature in dealing with employees who dare to question Netflix’s sacred, if inappropriate, core values, regardless of their loyal, dedicated and exemplary years of service, as evidenced by the repeated praise in her annual reviews, her promotions and her salary increases. COMBS has performed her duties competently and has met or exceeded Netflix’s reasonable expectations throughout her tenure at Netflix.”

Netflix had no comment on Combs’ lawsuit when contacted by Deadline today. If that changes, this post will be updated. Attorney Clark did not respond to a request for comment when contacted by Deadline. If and when he responds, this post will be updated.

For the sake of completeness, Netflix quietly lifted its vaccine requirement in September 2022 as political and medical circumstances changed. Disney followed shortly thereafter in November 2022, and the remaining studios and Hollywood associations lifted their vaccine requirements entirely in early 2023. In the months that followed, dozens of lawsuits over the vaccine requirement emerged, most of which are still pending in court.