Google Sued By Former Employee Who Was Fired For Supposedly Criticizing Anti-Diversity Memo

As it turns out, Google really is a big believer in fair treatment of employees. Last year, it fired engineer James Damore for sending out a memo suggesting that perhaps diversity is not the way to go, at least in its current form. Apparently, the company also fired another engineer for calling the memo “misogynistic” and violating Google’s communication guidelines.

The engineer in question is Tim Chevalier who worked on site reliability, The Guardian reports. He was apparently fired in November last year after raining criticisms on the Damore memo. Chevalier also identifies as “queer, disabled and transgender” and in the lawsuit filed against Google, accused the tech giant of failing to protect marginalized minorities from bullying.

The lawsuit even cites examples of discriminatory statements from internal forums where Chevalier was a regular participant, in which LGBT employees were called “immoral” and tagged with other offensive descriptions. The plaintiff also notes how odd it was that he would be fired for supposedly discriminating against people who are discriminating against him.

“It is a cruel irony that Google attempted to justify firing me by claiming that my social networking posts showed bias against my harassers,” Chevalier said about his termination. “The anti-discrimination laws are meant to protect marginalized and underrepresented groups – not those who attack them.”

In response, a Google spokesperson defended the company’s decision to fire Chevalier over an email, saying that it was only upholding its communication policies, Engadget notes. The statement alluded that there might have been some toxic behavior displayed by the former employee.

“An important part of our culture is lively debate. But like any workplace, that doesn’t mean anything goes,” the email reads. “The overwhelming majority of our employees communicate in a way that is consistent with our policies. But when an employee does not, it is something we must take seriously. We always make our decision without any regard to the employee’s political views.”