TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Age Discrimination by Google; Old People Need Not Apply for Work

Age Discrimination by Google; Old People Need Not Apply for Work

Associated Press News Wire (ap@telecom-digest.org)
Sat, 1 Oct 2005 12:42:29 -0500

Google Prevails in Age Discrimination Suit

A California judge has sided with Google Inc. in an age discrimination
lawsuit filed by a former manager who alleged the online search engine
leader had fired him because he didn't fit in with the company's
youthful culture.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge William Elfving granted Google
a summary judgment on all the case's key issues in a Sept. 21
ruling. The judge concluded that Brian Reid, formerly Google's
director of operations, hadn't presented enough evidence to prove
Google fired him in February 2004 because of his age.

Reid, who was 54 when he filed the suit more than 14 months ago, said
one of Google's executives told him that he lost his job because he
didn't fit into Google's youthful atmosphere. He also contended that
Google discriminated against him for having diabetes -- another
allegation that Elfving found to be meritless.

Amy Lambert, Google's senior employment counsel, said the Mountain
View, Calif.-based company was pleased with the outcome. "Google
values the diversity of our work force. The accusations in this case
were completely without merit and the judge's ruling unequivocally
affirms that," she said.

Lorraine P. Ocheltree, Reid's attorney, didn't return calls seeking
comment Friday.

Since its start in a Silicon Valley garage seven years ago, Google has
blossomed into one of the world's best known companies on the strength
of its renowned search engine. The company employs nearly 4,200
employees and expects to hire thousands more in the next few years.

Reid's firing cost him an annual salary of $200,000 and 119,000 Google
stock options with an exercise price of 30 cents per share, according
to his lawsuit. Those stock options would have been worth $37.6
million Friday, based on Google's closing price of $316.46 per share
on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

On The Net:
http://www.google.com

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

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