In a new case that highlights the growing tension between Silicon Valley’s hip, young atmosphere and older, experienced workers, an ex-Google director whom younger employees called “old fuddy duddy” and “sluggish” has been given the green light by a California appeals court to sue for age discrimination.
In finding that Brian Reid—who was age 54 when he was terminated from Google—presented sufficient evidence of age bias to proceed to trial, the appeals court pointed to frequent age-related remarks made to Reid by younger workers, plus statistics showing that younger employees tended to get higher bonuses and performance ratings. In addition, when Reid was stripped of his director duties, those duties were reassigned to younger employees and Reid was moved into a brand-new position without the benefit of a job title, budget, and staff—and that new position was allegedly eliminated just four months later.
We’ll have all the details on this case in an upcoming issue of the California Employer Advisor.
Additional Resources:
More articles on Age Discrimination
The Complete Guide to Understanding and Preventing Age Bias in the Workplace, an ERI Special Report (Start your guest access and get this now)