David Brown, who according to the lawsuit is jointly
employed by the Alphabet unit and security company Allied Universal, is seeking
unspecified monetary damages for alleged physical and emotional harassment at
Google's Los Angeles offices based on his sexual orientation and race, which it
says took place between 2014 and last year.
Google and Allied Universal did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
Many major companies including Google last year stepped up
efforts to create more inclusive worksites after social protests calling
attention to racism. Some workers at Google, including over 2,000 who signed an
open letter on the issue in April, have said the company does not sufficiently
hold perpetrators accountable.
Brown's supervisor accounted for much of the alleged problematic
behavior, including "grabbing him on the buttocks, kicking him in the
groin, throwing him through a window head first and brutally grabbing his
nipples," according to the lawsuit, which was filed in a state court in
Los Angeles.
The supervisor, Henry Linares, was fired for other reasons
this year, according to the filing. A LinkedIn profile indicates he left Google
and Allied Universal in July. He did not immediately reply to a request for
comment.
Google's senior manager for global community operations, Rus
Rossini, "participated in the discrimination and sexual harassment and
took no corrective action," the lawsuit further alleges.
During a chat last year about items missing from Google's
offices, which were quiet due to the pandemic, Rossini messaged the supervisor,
"Strip searches for all," according to the lawsuit and a screenshot
of the exchange seen by Reuters.
After the supervisor responded that, "David is going to
love that," Rossini followed, "Tell David to bend over." The
supervisor, who shared the screenshot with Brown, responded, "hahah I'll
tell him you said Hellooo."
Rossini did not immediately respond to a request for
comment. He remains employed at Google, according to a LinkedIn profile.
Brown's attorney V. James DeSimone said Rossini should have
addressed the abuse, especially after Brown "turned those screenshots to
human resources, implicating Rossini in the harassment." -Reuters