Google clamps down on sex harassment

Google’s parent Alphabet on Friday settled a shareholder lawsuit that accused it of covering up lavish exit packages to executives found responsible for sexual misconduct, saying it would overhaul workplace policies and boost diversity efforts.

The tech giant said it will spend $310 million over a decade to overhaul the system, and will now forbid severance packages to employees who are subject to any pending investigation for sexual misconduct or retaliation. In addition, Alphabet said it would limit confidentiality restrictions when settling harassment and discrimination cases and ban workplace romances between managers and subordinates.

The Silicon Valley company got hit with a slew of shareholder lawsuits in 2018, after The New York Times reported that the board of directors had approved a $90 million exit package for a star executive, Andy Rubin, even after an investigation deemed a sexual-harassment claim against him credible.

This led to a global walkout of employees and some amendments of policies relating to sexual misconduct in 2018.

Friday’s settlement comes nearly one year after the board of Alphabet formed a Special Litigation Committee of independent directors last year and hired the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore to conduct an investigation into sexual misconduct by executives last November.

The investigation included the behavior of David Drummond, a longtime company lawyer who kept his job even after details of an extramarital relationship he had with a woman who worked for him became public. He left Alphabet this year.

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO who reportedly was a notorious philanderer despite being married more than 30 years, left the board in 2019.

Alphabet said Friday that sexual-misconduct accusations against senior executives will be investigated by a “rapid response” team, and they will be barred from amending their stock-selling plans while under investigation.