He claims HR dismissed his concerns—then promoted the supervisor he complained about
Peloton is accused of terminating a manager mid-parental leave, months after he flagged antisemitism in the workplace.
Victor Didia, who spent more than six years as a senior manager in NetSuite engineering at the fitness giant, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on January 5. The case raises pointed questions about how employers handle discrimination complaints and whether protected leave truly shields workers from retaliation.
According to the lawsuit, the trouble started in October 2024. One of Didia's direct reports, a Jewish employee named Nadav Julius, raised serious concerns about his safety amid rising antisemitism following the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel. Didia, who is also Jewish, approved Julius's request to work remotely and sent it up the chain to his supervisors, including Chief Accounting Officer Saquib Baig.
What allegedly happened next is at the heart of the case.
During a November 2024 meeting, Baig reportedly dismissed the safety concerns of Jewish employees, telling them, "I'm a Muslim, I was a Muslim in 9/11 – That was hard, you have it easy." The lawsuit claims Baig denied Julius's remote work request while allowing non-Jewish employees to work from home.
The filing also alleges that Didia and other Jewish employees were repeatedly blocked from forming an Employee Resource Group. Management's rationale, according to the suit: "Jewish is not an ethnicity – It's a religion." This despite Peloton maintaining ERGs for Black, Latino, and Asian employees, as well as veterans.
When HR interviewed Didia in January 2025 as part of a separate internal investigation, he raised his concerns about Baig's remarks and antisemitism at the company. The response, he claims, was underwhelming. HR allegedly downplayed the situation and later closed the matter without explanation. Baig faced no discipline. In fact, he was promoted.
After those HR meetings, the lawsuit claims Baig grew cold and distant toward Didia.
Then came the pregnancy. Didia notified his managers, including Baig, that his wife was expecting and that he planned to take parental leave. He filed his FMLA request on March 6, 2025, and it was approved for eighteen weeks starting May 21. His child arrived a day early, on May 20.
Less than three months into his leave, Peloton let him go.
The company framed the August 8 termination as part of a cost-cutting reduction in force. But Didia contends he was the only person on the entire NetSuite engineering team to lose his job.
The lawsuit brings seven claims against Peloton and Baig individually, including FMLA interference, FMLA retaliation, and discrimination under both federal civil rights law and the New York City Human Rights Law. Didia is seeking back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorneys' fees.
Peloton has not yet filed a response. No determination has been made on the merits of the claims.
