Bloomberg / Business Week
Google Inc., owner of the world’s most popular search engine, faces a trial in a California age- discrimination lawsuit filed by a creator of the first Internet firewall.
The California Supreme Court today affirmed a state appeals court decision in 2007 that had overturned a trial’s court dismissal of the complaint. The Supreme Court said the appellate court correctly refused to exclude so-called stray remarks made by supervisors and coworkers of the fired employee that were allegedly discriminatory.
Brian Reid, a former director of operations and engineering at Mountain View, California-based Google, claimed in his 2004 suit that he was fired after a supervisor said he was “too old to matter.” Reid created the first firewall, a security system for computer networks, and the Internet search engine Alta Vista, according to his employment lawyer.
Reid also claimed in the suit that Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt sent an e-mail directing a vice president to put together a “proposal for getting Reid out,” according to court documents. Reid, who was 54 when he sued, claimed other Google colleagues called him an “old man” and “old fuddy- duddy,” though he had received a favorable performance review showing he “consistently met expectations.”
“Brian Reid was not laid off based on his age,” Andrew Pederson, a spokesman for Google, said in an e-mail today. “The Supreme Court today simply upheld the lower court’s decision that the case should not be dismissed without a trial. We look forward to demonstrating in court the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons why Mr. Reid was let go.”
The case is Reid v. Google, S158965, California Supreme Court (San Francisco).
The California Supreme Court today affirmed a state appeals court decision in 2007 that had overturned a trial’s court dismissal of the complaint. The Supreme Court said the appellate court correctly refused to exclude so-called stray remarks made by supervisors and coworkers of the fired employee that were allegedly discriminatory.
Brian Reid, a former director of operations and engineering at Mountain View, California-based Google, claimed in his 2004 suit that he was fired after a supervisor said he was “too old to matter.” Reid created the first firewall, a security system for computer networks, and the Internet search engine Alta Vista, according to his employment lawyer.
Reid also claimed in the suit that Google Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt sent an e-mail directing a vice president to put together a “proposal for getting Reid out,” according to court documents. Reid, who was 54 when he sued, claimed other Google colleagues called him an “old man” and “old fuddy- duddy,” though he had received a favorable performance review showing he “consistently met expectations.”
“Brian Reid was not laid off based on his age,” Andrew Pederson, a spokesman for Google, said in an e-mail today. “The Supreme Court today simply upheld the lower court’s decision that the case should not be dismissed without a trial. We look forward to demonstrating in court the legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons why Mr. Reid was let go.”
The case is Reid v. Google, S158965, California Supreme Court (San Francisco).
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