Age Discrimination Case Against Google
The California Supreme Court issued a ruling Thursday against Google in an age bias case. The search giant is accused of firing an employee because he was "too old" for the company culture.
Google officials say that a 54-year-old employee was let go in 2002 because he wasn't a "good fit" for the company, but Brian Reid says he was a victim of age discrimination. He cited co-workers who described him as an "old man," "slow," and an "old fuddy-duddy."
Today, at 10:00 the state Supreme Court will decide whether those "stray remarks" should be admissible in court.
Reid – who managed the team that built Alta Vista, one of the first search engines – claims that Google owes him tens of millions of dollars in lost stock options.
The state Supreme Court ruled in Reid's favor. Specifically, the justices say in Reid's lawsuit against Google he can use the so-called stray remarks of his colleagues in court. That means the negative comments of his co-workers, who do not supervise him or have power over his job status can be entered in court. And the remarks of his supervisors when they are not at work can also be used in the suit.
