A former employee at Horizon, a white woman, cited the mistreatment of Black women at Horizon when she resigned, according to the lawsuit. When Deberry attempted to corroborate the claims, the company’s HR leader Nancy Galanty broke confidentiality by telling leadership, and proceeded to label Deberry as “angry,” the lawsuit alleges.
The plaintiffs also assert that Koenigsberg actively tried to undermine and discredit the findings of a Horizon diversity and culture survey in 2023, challenging the benchmark baseline and rates of participation. When the results of a subsequent annual survey suggested employees took issue with inclusion at the company, Koenigsberg and Horizon president Bob Lord criticized the methodology and demanded that the survey company’s cofounder defend its credibility in a meeting with Horizon leaders, according to the complaint.
Smith-Wilson, who joined Horizon in 2022, was terminated from the company in April of this year, with Horizon leaders citing a “restructuring,” the lawsuit alleges. Less than a month later, a new enterprise-level CMO was appointed to take over Smith-Wilson’s role. The shakeup was not a restructuring, the lawsuit claims, but “a pretext manufactured to conceal discriminatory and retaliatory motives.”
“Companies don’t earn immunity by pointing to diverse hires or past awards; the law demands equal standards, equal opportunities, and equal respect,” Clark, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said. “My clients never wanted to take this course of action. They achieved results despite resistance, and they’re stepping forward because mistreatment cannot be excused or normalized.”
