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posted by takyon on Tuesday August 08 2017, @08:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the conversation-starter dept.

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

Alphabet Inc.'s Google has fired an employee who wrote an internal memo blasting the web company's diversity policies, creating a firestorm across Silicon Valley. James Damore, the Google engineer who wrote the note, confirmed his dismissal in an email, saying that he had been fired for "perpetuating gender stereotypes." He said he's "currently exploring all possible legal remedies."

[...] Earlier on Monday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai sent a note to employees that said portions of the memo "violate our Code of Conduct and cross the line by advancing harmful gender stereotypes in our workplace." But he didn't say if the company was taking action against the employee. A Google representative, asked about the dismissal, referred to Pichai's memo.

[...] After the controversy swelled, Danielle Brown, Google's new vice president for diversity, integrity and governance, sent a statement to staff condemning Damore's views and reaffirmed the company's stance on diversity. In internal discussion boards, multiple employees said they supported firing the author, and some said they would not choose to work with him, according to postings viewed by Bloomberg News.

"We are unequivocal in our belief that diversity and inclusion are critical to our success as a company," Brown said in the statement. "We'll continue to stand for that and be committed to it for the long haul."

Source: Bloomberg.

[Update: Apparently Julian Assange has offered James Damore a job, saying that "Censorship is for losers". - Fnord666]

Previously: Googler's Memo on Culture of Diversity Extremism Goes Viral Inside Google


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday August 08 2017, @08:43PM (16 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday August 08 2017, @08:43PM (#550753) Homepage Journal

    Hope they have fun dealing with the labor board and the lawsuit. What they did may have been in line with policy but it was not in line with the law [cnbc.com].

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Justin Case on Tuesday August 08 2017, @08:58PM

    by Justin Case (4239) on Tuesday August 08 2017, @08:58PM (#550764) Journal

    They are probably planning to pay off the lawsuit as a cost of doing business to hush this guy.

    After all, this is a situation where Something Must Be Done so they had to be seen Doing Something About It.

    We can't tolerate diversity of opinion on the Sacred Precepts of diversity and tolerance!

  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by bob_super on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:03PM (12 children)

    by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:03PM (#550767)

    "At will" state ? People finding him unpleasant to work with is enough for a dismissal.

    I'm pretty sure Google's highly paid lawyers worked overtime to greenlight such a high profile firing before it happened.

    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:09PM (11 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:09PM (#550772) Homepage Journal

      Read the link. It's from an actual business employment consulting lawyer.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:20PM (10 children)

        by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:20PM (#550779)

        I read the link. But there is no way Google terminated that guy without approval from their significant pool of lawyers, so his short arguments aren't the final word on the topic.
        He's obviously going to try to sue, let's see which high-profile lawyer rushes first to take his case...

        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 08 2017, @10:03PM (9 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 08 2017, @10:03PM (#550788)

          It's still an at will state so at will, either party can say bye-bye with no need for a reason. He has no case. Even if they try to weedle it to be he's engaging in political discourse by posting that crud, he has no case.

          To all you who have usurped the word conservative who are frothing at the mouth right now, wah wah go create your own company and hire only who you want and succeed where you feel Google is failing. Then you can point out the superiority of your opinions. Otherwise you are just spewing hot air on a completely unrelated thread and nothing will change. Blow away, but no one will be seeing for Conservoogle any time soon.

          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by NewNic on Tuesday August 08 2017, @10:07PM

            by NewNic (6420) on Tuesday August 08 2017, @10:07PM (#550790) Journal

            It's still an at will state so at will, either party can say bye-bye with no need for a reason. He has no case. Even if they try to weedle it to be he's engaging in political discourse by posting that crud, he has no case.

            Firing him for no reason is completely legal. Firing him with a reason that is contrary to employment law is problematic.

            My guess: they already worked out a settlement with this guy.

            --
            lib·er·tar·i·an·ism ˌlibərˈterēənizəm/ noun: Magical thinking that useful idiots mistake for serious political theory
          • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @01:17AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @01:17AM (#550869)

            You missed an important detail.

            States can't pre-empt federal employment law. Period. At-will, right-to-work, agency, union ... doesn't matter.

            They all fall under federal law.

            And the link above points out that Google is looking for trouble under FEDERAL employment law.

            Got that? California may or may not have a dog in this fight, but the FEDERAL employment groups sure as hell do - even the NLRB, even if he's not in a union. The NLRB has a mandate that stretches beyond unions.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @06:30AM (6 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @06:30AM (#550975)

            To all you who have usurped the word conservative who are frothing at the mouth right now, wah wah go create your own company and hire only who you want and succeed where you feel Google is failing.

            ... any chair in a bar fight.

            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @07:08AM (5 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @07:08AM (#550986)

              το θάνατο στους Τούρκους και φασίστες

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @07:26AM (4 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @07:26AM (#550991)

                το θάνατο στους Τούρκους και φασίστες [Death to the Turks and fascists]

                The fascists in this case being the ones attempting thought control.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @07:57AM (3 children)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @07:57AM (#551003)

                  You really should look into Nazi and Italian and Spanish Fascist positions on the place of women in society! It's OK, we will wait.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @08:26AM (2 children)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @08:26AM (#551017)

                    I was unaware that Google was owned by Italy and Spain.

                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @09:56AM (1 child)

                      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @09:56AM (#551045)

                      There is much you are unaware of, judging by your posts here.

                      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @10:55AM

                        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 09 2017, @10:55AM (#551054)

                        Unsurprisingly, ad hominem and nothing else.

  • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:27PM (1 child)

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:27PM (#550780) Journal

    I honestly hope they throw the book at Google.

    • (Score: 5, Funny) by looorg on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:32PM

      by looorg (578) on Tuesday August 08 2017, @09:32PM (#550781)

      ... they'll just scan it and add it to their library project.