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Meta's decision to reduce its recruitment team amid large-scale layoffs led to serious hiring oversights, including the rehiring of a blacklisted former employee who had stalked a staff member, according to a lawsuit filed in New York Supreme Court.
The legal action, brought by Meta marketing leader James Napoli, alleges that the social media giant's streamlined hiring processes failed to identify that his stalker had been placed on a "Do Not Hire" list, resulting in his return as a contractor.
The incident occurred after CEO Mark Zuckerberg's March 2023 announcement of 21,000 job cuts, which included significant reductions in Meta's recruitment team. According to the lawsuit, the restructuring led the company to rely more heavily on external contractors for hiring, with fewer internal recruiters available to screen candidates.
The suit claims that the accused stalker, identified only as "G.F.," was initially terminated during Meta's November 2022 layoffs, which affected 13% of staff. Following his dismissal, G.F. allegedly began harassing Napoli, sending up to 30 messages daily and contacting his family members.
“I had spoken to my employer about this … on numerous occasions and I was told that he would not be able to enter our offices, that he would not be hired again, and then like, all of a sudden, this guy is reaching out to me [on Meta’s internal messaging system],” Napoli told CNBC in an interview.
“I trusted that my employer would be able to keep me safe, right? Because stalkers and harassers are also workplace hazards… And this isn’t just a hazard for me, this is a dangerous individual that was let back into the workplace.”
Meta 'stalker' rehired
Despite Meta's HR department assuring Napoli in September 2023 that G.F. was on both the company's "Do Not Hire" and "No Entry" lists, the individual was rehired as a contractor four months later.
"Meta's employment practices are apparently so chaotic, reckless, and ineffectual that the company fails to keep track of the most fundamental data point in its workplace – the dangerous people who pose a severe risk to Meta's own employees," said attorneys Carrie Goldberg and Peter Romer-Friedman in the filing.
The lawsuit also alleges workplace retaliation, claiming Napoli was removed from leading an artificial intelligence marketing initiative and faced reduced responsibilities after he raised concerns about G.F.'s rehiring.
While Meta eventually terminated G.F.'s employment for a second time, the incident highlights potential risks in rapid corporate restructuring and its impact on HR processes. The case particularly emphasizes the importance of maintaining robust hiring protocols even during periods of organizational change.
This is not Meta's first encounter with such issues. In 2018, the company dismissed a security engineer for allegedly using internal data to stalk women online.
The lawsuit seeks damages and court orders to prevent G.F.'s future rehiring at Meta and to stop any further retaliation against Napoli.
