Two HR reports, a blocked transfer, a 90-minute confrontation - here's what the filing says
A former LG Electronics researcher says her boss asked what would "mentally break" her - and that HR fell short when she reported it.
A former UX Researcher at LG Electronics USA, Inc. filed suit on May 15, 2026, in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, also naming her direct manager and another supervisor. The complaint brings claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, covering gender discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation and constructive discharge. The two supervisors are named on an aiding-and-abetting claim under state law.
The plaintiff joined LG as a UX Researcher in October 2024. According to the filing, the trouble began at the interview, where she alleges her direct manager "stared at" her "body and chest in an inappropriate and uncomfortable manner." Within her first days on the job, she says he asked her what would "mentally break" her and repeatedly called her "childish" and "messy."
The filing says he also spoke about a previous female employee who had complained about him, calling her, in the plaintiff's account, a "narcissistic bitch." She says that comment made her afraid to report anything herself. A second supervisor, she alleges, reinforced that fear by saying she would not have reported issues involving him because she did not want to be seen as unable to "handle the situation on her own."
The complaint says her manager discussed drug use with her during her first days on the job, including mushrooms before work and marijuana before bed. In March 2025, she alleges, he told her he wanted to "fix" her so his daughter would not "end up like" her, and asked her what she "hated about" herself. She also alleges he referred to her Birkenstocks using a derogatory slur, after which she stopped wearing them to work.
The second supervisor, the complaint says, criticized her appearance, mocked her for getting her nails done, criticized her food choices and told her, in the plaintiff's telling, that "UC kids like you would not end up in management positions like me." She alleges the same supervisor also told her she could easily be replaced.
The HR thread is where this complaint really lands. The plaintiff says she raised concerns about the second supervisor in early 2025, and alleges her direct manager's treatment of her substantially worsened after she did. She says he stepped up scrutiny of her work, blocked her bid to transfer to another team and built a slideshow evaluating whether speaking with her was "a waste of his time."
In June 2025, the complaint says, she went to HR. She alleges her manager confronted her, pressed her to disclose what she had told HR, and said he and the other supervisor had good "survival instincts" and that "nothing you said would destroy him."
She alleges that in September 2025, her manager falsely accused her of violating company policy after she shared a photo of her work location with coworkers, then went through her purse without consent and said, in her account, that "messy girls like you always leave wrappers." She reported to HR a second time. The complaint says LG "failed to take prompt and effective remedial action."
In November 2025, the filing says, her manager subjected her to a roughly 90-minute confrontation after she left work early on a day when little work had been assigned and the other supervisor had also left early. During it, she alleges, he told her she needed to support the other supervisor's "low self-esteem by deferring to her authority."
She says she suffered stress-induced hives and resigned in December 2025. She filed an EEOC charge on or about March 13, 2026.
For HR leaders, the case is less about any single quote than about a pattern. The complaint describes two rounds of internal reporting, a blocked transfer attempt, escalating treatment after each report, and a constructive discharge claim built on the accumulation. If a fact-finder credits even part of the account, the breakdown sits squarely inside HR's core function - taking the complaint, separating the parties, investigating, and acting on what is found.
The allegations have not been tested in court. LG and the two supervisors have not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on the claims.
