California Supreme Court to consider age bias case against Google

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

When a then-emerging Google recruited engineer Brian Reid in the summer of 2002, it appeared to have landed a Silicon Valley superstar. Reid had managed the team that built one of the first Internet search engines at AltaVista. He'd helped cofound the precursor company to Adobe Systems. He'd even worked on Apollo 17.

But within two years, Google decided that the 54-year-old Reid was not a "cultural fit" for the company and fired him, allegedly after co-workers had described him as "an old man," "slow," "sluggish" and "an old fuddy-duddy." Reid responded with an age discrimination lawsuit blasting Google's 20-something culture for shunning his generation in the workplace.

Now, Reid's long-running legal feud with Google has reached the California Supreme Court, which this week will hear arguments that will determine if the age discrimination allegations will ever be aired to a jury.

... The allegations against Google, which is described as a workplace where it was a negative to not participate in snowboarding trips or lunchtime roller hockey games, could put the company in an awkward spot if the Supreme Court does allow the case to go to trial. But close Google watchers say they do not hear much buzz that the company is hostile to older workers, at least these days.

Google declined to disclose a breakdown of its workforce by age or say how many employees are at least 50 years old.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15148451