4 ms·

Actually California is very pro employer and maybe what you meant? Google obviously has a lot of reasons to fire Damore but they do not even need a reason. Fo

Actually California is very pro employer and maybe what you meant? Google obviously has a lot of reasons to fire Damore but they do not even need a reason. Former Google engineer sitting at home unemployed and unable to find a job supports he should have been fired.

stale2002 9y ago
Google can fire people for no reason, but that can't fire people for an illegal reason. And google definitely didn't fire him for no reason. It is illegal to engage in "Forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics or from becoming candidates for public office." Here is the california law in question: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1101 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection... If there are smoking gun emails that say "We are going to fire him for his politics", then Google broke the law. All this information will come out during the lawsuit, and during discovery, if it exists.
- oneeyedpigeon 9y ago
  "Forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics" sounds to me like a company can't prevent you from voting, or attending a political rally in your non-work time. It doesn't sound to me like a company can't make decisions based on your 'political' views, including treating you more or less favourably relative to other employees or candidates. I put political in quotes back there simply because it's a word that can be bent in all sorts of directions to mean anything from Politics to simply having an opinion on something. Remember, the opinion might be highly offensive and make working with others, on a team, more difficult.
  - LyndsySimon 9y ago
    > Remember, the opinion might be highly offensive and make working with others, on a team, more difficult. I'm no lawyer, but I don't see how this would make any difference. Consider that a black man in rural Mississippi in the 1960s would have had a very difficult time serving white patrons at a restaurant; I don't think "people didn't like him working for us" is a viable defense here.
    - jacksmith21006 9y ago
      Are you from the US? In the US and CA you can be fired for basically any reason that a company wants as long as you are not a protected class which Damore is not. But here it is so black and white on firing him this entire discussion is a bit ridiculous. The entire thing is some weird PR thing driven by the right wing. Any company I am familiar with in the US would have fired Damore. It is also why nobody will hire him. It is also why he now has his GF filter him.
      - LyndsySimon 9y ago
        Yes, I live in Arkansas. An employer here can legally fire someone because they have a bumper sticker on their car for the wrong candidate. In California, however, political affiliation is a protected class under state law.
        JoeAltmaier 9y ago
        Practically, you can just 'let a person go' and not tell them its about the bumper sticker. CA is a right-to-work state, isn't it? Anyone can be laid off at any time.
        LyndsySimon 9y ago
        > Practically, you can just 'let a person go' and not tell them its about the bumper sticker. That's not what happened here, though. > CA is a right-to-work state, isn't it? Anyone can be laid off at any time. You're confusing "right to work" and "at will". "Right to work" means that it's illegal for a union to prohibit non-union workers. "At will" means that employers can fire people without reason. Even in an "at will" state, there are protected classes under both federal and state law. Political affiliation is not a protected class under federal law, but it is under California state law.
        stale2002 9y ago
        You could do that sure. But if someone sues you, and you are required to give up your emails as per discovery laws, and one of those emails says "I fired him for being a Democrat/republican", then you would lose the court case and have to pay lots of money. Google explicitly fired the guy for the memo. They aren't hiding as for why they fired it they explicitly gave the reason. If you explicitly give a reason for why someone is fired, and that reason is illegal, them you will lose the court case. Similarly, you could also find someone hiking in the woods, and just shoot them or something, and you might get away with it. Or you might not. That's how the law works. Google has been very clear as for why the guy was fired. Now the only question is is their stated reason equivalent to firing someone for politics. And if so, that's illegal.
- jacksmith21006 9y ago
  I am not sure where you are at but in the US and CA you can fire someone for basically any reason they want. Say he farted in a meeting and he can be fired. This is very different in the US versus other parts of the world. But here it is pretty easy because ANY company I am familiar with in the US would fire Damore. It is just how things work in the US. You do not write what he wrote and share it. Might not be fair but how things work. It is also why he is sitting at home and nobody will hire him. All of this has ZERO to do with politics and him being right leaning. The issue has been cop-opt by the right wing to use it to gen up their base. This is NOT a political issue as it appears you think. Writing what he did about women is NOT political. It is just human decency and something you just do not do. Why do you think he now has his GF filter what he writes?
  - stale2002 9y ago
    I literally just pointed you to the law in question. It is illegal to prevent someone from "engaging" in politics, as per the California law I just linked you. It is not legal to fire someone for "basically any reason" if it was for the illegal reason that I have linked. Maybe what he did does not count as politics. You could make that argument. But your argument about how it is possible to fire someone for any reason is untrue, as per the law.

stale2002 9y ago

Google can fire people for no reason, but that can't fire people for an illegal reason. And google definitely didn't fire him for no reason. It is illegal to engage in "Forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics or from becoming candidates for public office." Here is the california law in question: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=LAB&sectionNum=1101 http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection... If there are smoking gun emails that say "We are going to fire him for his politics", then Google broke the law. All this information will come out during the lawsuit, and during discovery, if it exists.

oneeyedpigeon 9y ago
"Forbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics" sounds to me like a company can't prevent you from voting, or attending a political rally in your non-work time. It doesn't sound to me like a company can't make decisions based on your 'political' views, including treating you more or less favourably relative to other employees or candidates. I put political in quotes back there simply because it's a word that can be bent in all sorts of directions to mean anything from Politics to simply having an opinion on something. Remember, the opinion might be highly offensive and make working with others, on a team, more difficult.
- LyndsySimon 9y ago
  > Remember, the opinion might be highly offensive and make working with others, on a team, more difficult. I'm no lawyer, but I don't see how this would make any difference. Consider that a black man in rural Mississippi in the 1960s would have had a very difficult time serving white patrons at a restaurant; I don't think "people didn't like him working for us" is a viable defense here.
  - jacksmith21006 9y ago
    Are you from the US? In the US and CA you can be fired for basically any reason that a company wants as long as you are not a protected class which Damore is not. But here it is so black and white on firing him this entire discussion is a bit ridiculous. The entire thing is some weird PR thing driven by the right wing. Any company I am familiar with in the US would have fired Damore. It is also why nobody will hire him. It is also why he now has his GF filter him.
    - LyndsySimon 9y ago
      Yes, I live in Arkansas. An employer here can legally fire someone because they have a bumper sticker on their car for the wrong candidate. In California, however, political affiliation is a protected class under state law.
      - JoeAltmaier 9y ago
        Practically, you can just 'let a person go' and not tell them its about the bumper sticker. CA is a right-to-work state, isn't it? Anyone can be laid off at any time.
        LyndsySimon 9y ago
        > Practically, you can just 'let a person go' and not tell them its about the bumper sticker. That's not what happened here, though. > CA is a right-to-work state, isn't it? Anyone can be laid off at any time. You're confusing "right to work" and "at will". "Right to work" means that it's illegal for a union to prohibit non-union workers. "At will" means that employers can fire people without reason. Even in an "at will" state, there are protected classes under both federal and state law. Political affiliation is not a protected class under federal law, but it is under California state law.
        stale2002 9y ago
        You could do that sure. But if someone sues you, and you are required to give up your emails as per discovery laws, and one of those emails says "I fired him for being a Democrat/republican", then you would lose the court case and have to pay lots of money. Google explicitly fired the guy for the memo. They aren't hiding as for why they fired it they explicitly gave the reason. If you explicitly give a reason for why someone is fired, and that reason is illegal, them you will lose the court case. Similarly, you could also find someone hiking in the woods, and just shoot them or something, and you might get away with it. Or you might not. That's how the law works. Google has been very clear as for why the guy was fired. Now the only question is is their stated reason equivalent to firing someone for politics. And if so, that's illegal.
jacksmith21006 9y ago
I am not sure where you are at but in the US and CA you can fire someone for basically any reason they want. Say he farted in a meeting and he can be fired. This is very different in the US versus other parts of the world. But here it is pretty easy because ANY company I am familiar with in the US would fire Damore. It is just how things work in the US. You do not write what he wrote and share it. Might not be fair but how things work. It is also why he is sitting at home and nobody will hire him. All of this has ZERO to do with politics and him being right leaning. The issue has been cop-opt by the right wing to use it to gen up their base. This is NOT a political issue as it appears you think. Writing what he did about women is NOT political. It is just human decency and something you just do not do. Why do you think he now has his GF filter what he writes?
- stale2002 9y ago
  I literally just pointed you to the law in question. It is illegal to prevent someone from "engaging" in politics, as per the California law I just linked you. It is not legal to fire someone for "basically any reason" if it was for the illegal reason that I have linked. Maybe what he did does not count as politics. You could make that argument. But your argument about how it is possible to fire someone for any reason is untrue, as per the law.