A former employee is taking legal action against a tech company, alleging retaliation and wrongful termination. Pavel Zheltov filed a complaint on September 16, 2025, in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, against PageBites, Inc., and its CEO Alexander Hartigan. The lawsuit claims that the company retaliated against him for exercising his rights under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and for previously winning a wage-related lawsuit.
The case revolves around multiple allegations including retaliation under CFRA and Labor Code § 98.6, wrongful termination in violation of public policy, failure to pay wages upon termination as per Labor Code § 201, waiting time penalties under Labor Code § 203, unlawful deductions according to Labor Code § 221, and failure to timely pay wages under Labor Code § 210. Zheltov argues that after prevailing in a previous lawsuit where he was awarded over $2 million for unpaid wages and breach of contract regarding stock options at PageBites, the company retaliated by terminating his employment.
Zheltov’s troubles began when he discovered discrepancies in his equity compensation. He was promised 20,364 shares of JOYY Inc., vesting over four years with a one-year cliff. However, upon completing one year at PageBites, he received only a fraction of the shares promised. Despite raising this issue with the company, they continued to compensate him inadequately. After successfully suing PageBites for this discrepancy in April 2024, Zheltov continued working there until April 30, 2025.
Following the birth of his child on April 6, 2025, Zheltov informed HR about his intention to take Paid Family Leave (PFL). Initially assured of receiving fully paid leave benefits for twelve weeks by HR on April 10th, just two weeks later he was abruptly terminated along with his team under dubious circumstances described as a “layoff.” This sequence of events led Zheltov to believe that PageBites’ actions were retaliatory due to his prior legal victory and recent request for family leave.
Moreover, since at least 2021 PageBites had been withholding an additional tax from Zheltov’s Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) compensation without proper authorization or explanation—a practice allegedly acknowledged by the company but never rectified despite promises made via email communication dated March 13th ,2023 stating repayment would occur upon departure from employment which did not happen post-termination.
Zheltov seeks various forms of relief from the court including general damages; lost wages; penalties under relevant labor codes; restitution for unlawfully withheld wages; compensatory damages for emotional distress; punitive damages where applicable; costs incurred during litigation alongside reasonable attorney fees among other remedies deemed appropriate by judicial discretion.
Representing Zheltov is attorney Jeffrey M. Curtiss while details about defense counsel remain unspecified within available documentation provided herein identified as Case No:29CV475222.
Source: 25CV475222_Pavel_Zheltov_v_Pagebites_Complaint_County_of_Santa_Clara_California.pdf
