Plaintiff Alleges Tech Giant Microsoft Engaged in Discriminatory Practices

A former employee has filed a lawsuit against a major technology corporation, alleging discriminatory practices that led to his wrongful termination. On December 9, 2025, George Granata lodged a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia against Microsoft Corporation. The case accuses the tech giant of engaging in race, sex, and age discrimination during Granata’s employment and subsequent termination.

Granata’s legal action stems from his belief that he was unfairly targeted due to his status as a 56-year-old white male. He claims that despite being qualified and performing satisfactorily in his role as a Senior Consultant since February 2012, he was denied severance benefits upon his termination on March 13, 2024. According to Granata, Microsoft’s decision was inconsistent with its uniform severance policy applied to other employees outside his protected classes—namely younger, female, and non-white colleagues who received severance under similar circumstances. Granata points out that Microsoft’s assertion of his failure to meet performance standards is contradicted by their acknowledgment of him being “eligible for rehire,” suggesting pretextual motives behind their actions.

The complaint further highlights instances where older white male employees were subjected to derogatory remarks such as “male, pale and stale” and were perceived as earning excessively high salaries. These comments reflect an alleged pattern of discriminatory attitudes within the company aimed at sidelining older white males in favor of employees fitting Microsoft’s “target demographic.” Granata asserts that several employees within his age, race, and gender group were terminated around the same time as him, reinforcing the claim of systemic bias.

Granata seeks various forms of relief from the court including back pay, front pay, lost benefits, compensatory damages under Title VII and Section 1981 for race discrimination; liquidated damages under ADEA for age discrimination; punitive damages; attorney’s fees; statutory penalties under ERISA for failing to provide requested plan documents; and injunctive relief among others. His complaint outlines eight counts including violations under Title VII for race and sex discrimination, ADEA for age discrimination, Section 1981 for racial bias in contract enforcement rights, Equal Pay Act discrepancies regarding compensation based on sex differences among similarly situated employees performing equal work duties.

Representing Granata is attorney Larry A. Pankey from Pankey & Horlock LLC based in Atlanta. The case is presided over by Judge JPB-AWH with Case ID: 1:25-cv-07024-JPB-AWH.