A gay man socked his snooty employer — a social-networking site that bills itself as a “myspace for millionaires” — with a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that he was wrongfully fired after seeking paternity leave when his daughter was born.
Tonny Uy says in his Manhattan Federal Court gender-discrimination suit that ASMALLWORLD, an invitation-only site for business people and socialites, has a different set of standards for men and women seeking paternity leave.
He claims in his suit that he was “treated differently” from women co-workers after he demanded paid leave when his and his husband’s daughter was born in 2012.
Uy, of Washington, DC, said he was once considered a model employee by his bosses at the Manhattan-based company, where he had worked since 2007 as a senior accountant before being fired last June.
That all changed after he asked for 40 days of paid leave following his child’s birth, as allowed under the company’s employee “handbook,” the suit says.
The company at first balked at giving him paid leave — until he cited the company rule, according the suit.
Then after reluctantly agreeing, “there was a change in [his supervisor’s] attitude toward him. She was cool in her interactions with him, and she began to be critical of his performance,” the suit says.
He was told months later that his job was being removed from the company budget and he would be replaced by a part-timer. Three months before he was fired, the company issued a new handbook that did not provide any paid family leave. The part-timer hired to replace him was soon made a full-time staffer.
The suit seeks unspecified money damages.
Reps for ASMALLWORLD did not return messages.