Rippling, a leading human resources technology company, has filed a 50-page lawsuit against Deel, accusing it of racketeering, misappropriation of trade secrets, and other wrongdoing. The lawsuit centers on an employee allegedly working as a spy for Deel, but the company has denied all allegations.
The dispute began after Rippling accused Deel of violating sanctions law in Russia and spreading false information about the company. Now, Deel claims that Rippling is trying to deflect attention from its own alleged wrongdoing by making sensationalized claims. Both companies are major players in the HR technology space, targeting different aspects of human resources such as payroll, recruitment, training, compensation, and benefits management.
The rivalry has been escalating for months, with tensions rising when both companies target the same customers and are close in size. The lawsuit marks a significant escalation in the dispute, which was already fueled by public allegations of espionage and doxxing.
According to the lawsuit, an employee allegedly previewed confidential channels on Slack related to Deel over 450 times, including sensitive sales and business strategy discussions. The company claims that this behavior constitutes “brazen espionage” and accuses the employee of trying to poach employees from Rippling.
The lawsuit also reveals a dramatic scene in which a court officer attempted to seize the suspect’s phone, but they refused to comply, even attempting to flush it down the toilet. Despite the company’s attempts to remain anonymous, the alleged spy was easily identifiable on LinkedIn and has since deleted his profile.
Deel has denied all allegations and claims that Rippling is trying to deflect attention from its own wrongdoing. The dispute highlights the cutthroat nature of the HR technology space, where companies are constantly vying for market share and customers.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/17/rippling-sues-deel-deel-denies-all-legal-wrongdoing-and-slack-is-the-main-witness