Kleiner Perkins-Backed Startup BetterWorks Faces Harassment Suit
- Lawsuit says CEO Duggan physically assaulted female employee
- Kleiner’s Doerr, not named in suit, writing book with Duggan
Kris Duggan
Photographer: Jin Lee/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A former employee of BetterWorks Systems Inc. sued the venture-backed startup and three executives alleging sexual harassment, physical assault and a work environment that’s hostile to women.
The female employee’s complaint describes BetterWorks Chief Executive Officer Kris Duggan making inappropriate motions toward her on a bed during a company retreat in October and said an internal investigation concluded that he hadn’t violated the startup’s harassment policies. The allegations echo those lobbed against other startups and venture capital firms recently as Silicon Valley grapples with pervasive cultural problems, particularly rampant sexism.