A New Jersey massage therapist is suing Google, as well as a dozen unnamed parties, claiming the company wrongfully terminated his employment after he reported sexual harassment at the hands of another employee.
Elvis Gardin began providing his massage services at Google in 2008, and was fired in May of 2011. He claims that he always performed his duties in a sufficient manner, and was only terminated after reporting instances of sexual harassment and then taking a leave of absence to care for his sick mother. He’s seeking back pay, front pay, and both compensatory and punitive damages. He says that Google’s actions has caused him to suffer from continual emotional distress and embarrassment.
“During the course of Plaintiff’s employment, he complained to Defendants…that he was the subject of sexual harassment and unwanted sexual advance by a Google engineer who, among other thing, engaged in masturbation during a massage session at the New York office,” reads the lawsuit.
Yikes.
“From and after the time that Plaintiff took family leave to care for his parents, Plaintiff was subject to harassment and retaliation by the Defendants, up to and including the creation of pre-textual and malicious ‘performance improvement plans,’ and the termination of his employment,” the suit continues.
Gardin is claiming that after reporting the masturbation incident and taking his leave, his supervisors misrepresented his performance and created a pre-text to terminate.
“It is our allegation that, if a female employee had made the kind of complaint that he made, it would have been handled differently,” Gardin’s lawyer told the NY Daily News.
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