A now-famous memo written by a now-former staff member of tech giant Google sent waves through the news media late last year. The employee was later fired and eventually fired suit against his former employer for wrongful termination. Now another employee, on the other side of the political fence, has allegedly been fired for his responses to the memo and other statements on the California company’s message boards.
The individual was critical of the initial memo sent out by the employee and was active in his defense of diversity. He reportedly commented on message boards, calling the memo misogynistic and offering his politically liberal views. In response to the man’s comments on the company message boards, an HR official met with him to discuss why the comments were not work-appropriate. His use of language was called into question, and he was told that his statements may have used generalizations about race and gender.
Six weeks after the meeting with HR, the man was let go from his post. He claims that the firing was a retaliation for speaking out against the individuals he calls his harassers. Google has responded that the company supports lively debate, but that they cannot allow an anything-goes culture on the message boards.
The California tech company has certainly seen its share of workplace-issue-related press coverage in recent months. This most recent wrongful termination suit is far from being settled at this point. A worker is protected against being fired as retaliation or discrimination, and the court will review the man’s case to determine if either of these were a factor in his firing. An individual facing a similar workplace issue may be interested in recovering losses in court. Many choose to hire an experienced lawyer who can help them bring the case to trial.
Source: Fast Company, “Now an ex-Googler critical of James Damore’s memo is suing Google for getting fired“, Pavithra Mohan, Feb. 22, 2018