Times Standard (Eureka)

Google parent company agrees to pay $310M in misconduct settlement

- By Mae Anderson

NEW YORK » Google’s parent company has reached a $310 million settlement in a shareholde­r lawsuit over its treatment of allegation­s of executives’ sexual misconduct.

Alphabet Inc. said Friday that it will prohibit severance packages for anyone fired for misconduct or is the subject of a sexual misconduct investigat­ion. A special team will investigat­e any allegation­s against executives and report to the board’s audit committee.

Thousands of Google employees walked out of work in protest in 2018 after The New York Times revealed Android creator Andy Rubin received $90 million in severance even though several employees had filed misconduct allegation­s against him. Shareholde­r lawsuits followed, and in 2019 Google launched a board investigat­ion over how it handles sexual misconduct allegation­s.

In January, David Drummond, the Alphabet’s legal chief, left without an exit package, following accusation­s of inappropri­ate relationsh­ips with employees. The company didn’t give a reason for his departure, but claims against Drummond were included in the board investigat­ion.

With the settlement, Alphabet is pledging $310 million toward diversity, equity and inclusion programs over 10 years. It is also setting up an advisory committee to monitor how it handles sexual misconduct allegation­s against its executives.

“This settlement will not only change and improve the culture at Google, but it will set the standard for culture change at tech companies throughout Silicon Valley,” said Ann Ravel, an attorney from Renne Public Law Group who led parts of the settlement negotiatio­n.

The changes, as well as changes that had already been implemente­d at Google, will be extended to all of Alphabet’s divisions.

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