The board of directors of Google parent company Alphabet has been sued for its handling of sexual harassment in the company and a data leak from shareholders. The online giant is accused of a „culture of concealment“, as evidenced by the yesterday (local time) filed with a court in San Mateo, California.
Comments from Alphabet or Google did not exist so far. In October, a New York Times report rocked the company, according to which Google held a protective hand over executives accused of sexual harassment or coercion.
The lawsuit now filed accuses the Board of directors of playing a direct role in these cover-ups in 2014 and 2016. In addition, a glitch in the flabby online network Google Plus was concealed, through which a user data leak was created.
Damage of „hundreds of millions of dollars“
The plaintiffs‘ lawyers – two US pension funds – want to prove in the lawsuit that Google has suffered „hundreds of millions of dollars worth of damage“ from the misconduct of the board of directors. This was done, for example, by highly-paid severance payments for managers who were accused of harassment.
The plaintiffs‘ lawyers demand damages for the shareholders and a court order that improves Alphabet and Google’s corporate governance and internal controls to protect employees and investors.
