A software developer says Google fired him because he spoke out against harassment
'An important part of our culture is lively debate,' Google says, 'but it doesn’t mean anything goes'
By Rob Price
Google has been hit with another lawsuit alleging that it unjustly fired an employee who spoke out about politics — but this time, the employee is on the political left.
Software developer Tim Chevalier alleges that the technology giant was rife with harassment and discrimination, and that he was dismissed in November 2017 after he spoke out in support of diversity.
In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, Chevalier’s lawyers allege that he was wrongfully terminated and that Google violated the law by allowing a “hostile work environment.”
The case comes after another former Google employee, James Damore, was dismissed after speaking out about the internal politics of the company. Damore’s political stance was very different, however: He wrote a memo questioning the appropriateness of Google’s pro-diversity efforts, and has sued the company claiming it discriminates against white male conservatives.
Chevalier’s lawyers allege that Google employees used the company’s internal messaging systems and “posted discriminatory and harassing comments,” and that Chevalier — who identifies as transgender, disabled, and queer — called it out and “[asked] his peers to reflect on perspectives different from their own.”
Damore’s memo was among the posts that Chevalier criticised, the suit says, allegedly describing it as “misogynistic.”