Three women are suing the cancer blood test developer Grail claiming that, during their time as high-level sales employees, they suffered harassment, discrimination and ultimately retaliation under “a fraternity house” type of toxic work culture led by senior staff.
As first reported by the Financial Times, the three separate lawsuits said that Grail failed to properly respond to the plaintiffs’ complaints of a “sexually charged” and hostile work environment, including racist remarks made by a coworker in one case. They also each claim they were denied equal pay under California law.
Two of the employees would later leave the company after saying they received abrupt declines in their annual performance reviews—while the third was fired while taking disability leave, and after she said she planned to hire a lawyer.
The lawsuits described events that took place as Grail sought to expand the sales of its Galleri test, designed to detect as many as 50 different types of cancer in their early stages from a single blood draw.
Filed separately in the California counties of San Diego, Los Angeles and Alameda, the trio of complaints also provide a view into Grail’s habits of spending large sums of money while collecting comparatively little revenue. Each is being represented by The Vora Law Firm of Santa Monica, California.
On its own, the Illumina spinout raised nearly $2 billion in venture capital funding before being re-acquired by the DNA sequencing giant—an $8 billion deal that, by itself, has since been the source of legal and regulatory headaches for the company in the U.S. and the European Union, leading to the ultimate ouster of its board chair and the departure of its CEO, before culminating this week in a record $476 million fine.
Meanwhile, Illumina had committed to covering Grail’s operating expenses at a level of up to $800 million per year—while holding the company as a separate entity under arm’s length, pending ongoing legal challenges and appeals over the August 2021 acquisition.
Still, Illumina’s financial results for its 2022 fiscal year included $296 million in Grail’s selling, general and administrative expenses, plus $330 million in R&D costs, alongside a $117 million gross loss against just $55 million in revenue.
“Grail spent money effectively indiscriminately on everything,” according to one of the lawsuits, listing a PGA Champions golf sponsorship dubbed The Galleri Classic, television ads, trade show sponsorships, digital banners, search engine marketing, and a traveling “Galleri Mobile Pod” for collecting blood samples “in a luxurious atmosphere.”
Employees were also treated to free catered lunches and dinners at the office every day, with access to free beer and wine at all times, the lawsuit stated.
The alcohol in particular contributed to an example of an unprofessional workplace, according to one of the lawsuits, as male sales VPs drank beers during a meeting while one plaintiff was asking for a promotion and making a sales pitch aimed at supplying San Francisco firefighters with annual screenings of Grail’s cancer detection test—as the occupation has historically seen higher rates of cancer compared to the general population.
That plaintiff said she was sexually harassed and groped by one of the same VPs later that day at the company holiday party—as well as paid zero additional commission or a bonus following a successful cancer screening drive with San Francisco’s fire department. The suit also said that male sales colleagues received significant commissions based on their potential for generating revenues, instead of actual sales being made.
The second complaint named that same VP as well, saying he contributed to a hostile work environment after the plaintiff reported repeated lewd comments being made by a separate female coworker.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was later docked during her annual performance review, losing points for being “unafraid to challenge or ask hard questions of other peers and leaders,” while others were promoted over her and she effectively received a demotion.
The third complaint detailed how one coworker would repeatedly make racist remarks about Vietnamese women—such as the plaintiff—and in front of Grail patients of Asian descent at a public event. After the plaintiff lodged complaints with human resources, the coworker was only instructed to take online courses, and later still received a bonus despite what the lawsuit described as Grail’s “zero tolerance” policy. The plaintiff was terminated by the company after detailing repeated incidents and saying that she would retain counsel.
In a statement to Fierce Medtech, Grail said it “is committed to robust and fair employee practices that create a thriving, high-performing, productive, diverse, inclusive, and engaged workforce, and our workplace policies prohibit unlawful discrimination or retaliation.”
“We take seriously, review, and investigate all reported workplace complaints,” the company added. “We are reviewing the allegations in these complaints, and are confident that the claims are without merit. We will vigorously defend against these allegations.”