Former Yahoo! Employee Slaps Sexual Harassment Case Against Female Executive

Charges of sexual harassment have been slapped against a top female executive of Yahoo! in California by one of her former female employees.

Nan Shi, former principal software engineer, said she was unjustifiably terminated after she complained about alleged harassment to Yahoo's human resources against Maria Zhang, a senior director of engineering at Yahoo Mobile in California, U.S.

Shi claimed in court documents that Zhang forced her into oral and digital sex on a number of occasions.

Shi alleged Zhang, who was her immediate boss, promised her a "bright future" if she had sex with her. She claimed Zhang "ordered" her to live with her in Yahoo housing in Sunnyvale, California.

When Shi resisted, she claimed Zhang hit back by giving her a bad performance review as well as removed her as lead in a project.

In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, Shi recalled her sexual liaisons with Zhang. "I was in a deep sleep one morning, sleeping on the sofa because she had taken my bed, when she came in without clothes on, crawled into my blanket, and woke me up, hugging me, kissing my face and neck,'' Shi said. "I woke up and got scared; I was shocked. I said, what are you doing? She said she'd liked me a long time, but I didn't' feel the same toward her. I said come on, we're friends; I love you as a person, but not as a lover.''

Shi said she reported the abuse to Yahoo, but the company did nothing to stop it. Instead, Shi claimed the tech company placed her on unpaid leave before eventually terminating her.

Shi is seeking monetary as well as punitive damages. Yahoo has likewise been named as a defendant in the lawsuit.