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And blacklist myself entirely from this career? This throwaway comment is pushing it already in terms of burning bridges, not to mention getting fired from Goog

And blacklist myself entirely from this career? This throwaway comment is pushing it already in terms of burning bridges, not to mention getting fired from Google itself after my extended network congratulated me on the position. Who, in this incestuous valley, would hire the guy that sued Google for an employment issue? I've seen it happen, no way. Right to work, too, sigh. To be clear I moved from the Oakland area down here, so it's not like I came here from Cleveland. Also, I have no ill will for Google and just hope I can move on with my life, while warning people what they're getting into. I've dreamed of working at Google since I was a teenager. Finally my career trajectory lined up and I got there. Then I have to come to terms with my dream company acting like an incompetent fast food chain in terms of HR. Tough enough without a lawsuit.

bradleyjg 13y ago
Fair enough. Best of luck.
- throwaway86 13y ago
  Thank you.
ScottBurson 13y ago
If you have the evidence you say you have, I'd bet a good attorney could get mid-five figures out of them along with an agreement not to disclose the settlement. I don't see what harm there would be in getting a professional opinion, anyway.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- ufmace 13y ago
  I've never been in the GP's position, but my thoughts on such things have always been that there's usually not much point in suing your current or former employer, barring something really extreme that somehow cost you 6 figures or more. The only real upside to it is a one-time payment of a few tens of thousands, which sounds like a few months of salary at any company in the industry. Why spend the time with lawyers and courts and risk possible future issues with then and other companies for that? You're probably better off in the long run to just forget about it and spend your time getting a job at a more sane company.
  - throwaway86 13y ago
    That's my thoughts, as well, particularly with California's architecture of at-will employment and the language that Google inserts into their offers. It's just not worth it, and they know that, which is why they treated me like shit.
Domenic_S 13y ago
You mean at-will, not right to work.
FreakLegion 13y ago
>Who, in this incestuous valley, would hire the guy that sued Google for an employment issue? I would. Unfortunately I'm up north in Sacramento. I don't know how long ago your ordeal was, what your situation is now, or your engineering background, but feel free to ping me.
- throwaway86 13y ago
  I'm flattered. Thank you.
jfarmer 13y ago
No, any settlement would almost certainly include a mutual non-disclosure agreement and mutual non-disparagement agreement. Complaining about it here makes it more difficult to get those, though, and any settlement in general. Moreover, that's not how it works in SV. Assuming you do good work, nobody will care if you sued Google and settled except perhaps Google. I know plenty of engineers who were fired from companies like Facebook and Twitter for perfectly legitimate reasons and are now working at similarly-awesome companies as engineers. And this is a situation where the termination was 100% warranted and broadly known in "the incestuous Valley." I would have fired them had they done the same and I would have also hired them at another company, assuming they learned their lesson and otherwise seemed like people with integrity.
- throwaway86 13y ago
  I appreciate your thoughts and haven't taken them lightly. That's the thing, is this stupid college mistake on my record undermines my integrity. Never mind that I've been employed at multiple companies and been trusted with user data far and beyond what Google would ever trust me with. I would have hoped that after a five year history in this industry, I would have demonstrated some integrity. Not even my character references, who will happily vouch for my integrity, can sway these people. Remember folks, HR is not your advocate. They are risk mitigation.
  - jfarmer 13y ago
    It sounds like you've decided your rejection is fait accompli. I don't think that's the case, but I'm not here to convince you otherwise. Good luck!
    - throwaway86 13y ago
      No, I have irons in the fire. I won't deny that it got me down, and I know that's coming across. Thank you for the support, I really appreciate it.
      - 13y ago

bradleyjg 13y ago

Fair enough. Best of luck.

throwaway86 13y ago
Thank you.

ScottBurson 13y ago

If you have the evidence you say you have, I'd bet a good attorney could get mid-five figures out of them along with an agreement not to disclose the settlement. I don't see what harm there would be in getting a professional opinion, anyway.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
ufmace 13y ago
I've never been in the GP's position, but my thoughts on such things have always been that there's usually not much point in suing your current or former employer, barring something really extreme that somehow cost you 6 figures or more. The only real upside to it is a one-time payment of a few tens of thousands, which sounds like a few months of salary at any company in the industry. Why spend the time with lawyers and courts and risk possible future issues with then and other companies for that? You're probably better off in the long run to just forget about it and spend your time getting a job at a more sane company.
- throwaway86 13y ago
  That's my thoughts, as well, particularly with California's architecture of at-will employment and the language that Google inserts into their offers. It's just not worth it, and they know that, which is why they treated me like shit.

Domenic_S 13y ago

You mean at-will, not right to work.

FreakLegion 13y ago

>Who, in this incestuous valley, would hire the guy that sued Google for an employment issue? I would. Unfortunately I'm up north in Sacramento. I don't know how long ago your ordeal was, what your situation is now, or your engineering background, but feel free to ping me.

throwaway86 13y ago
I'm flattered. Thank you.

jfarmer 13y ago

No, any settlement would almost certainly include a mutual non-disclosure agreement and mutual non-disparagement agreement. Complaining about it here makes it more difficult to get those, though, and any settlement in general. Moreover, that's not how it works in SV. Assuming you do good work, nobody will care if you sued Google and settled except perhaps Google. I know plenty of engineers who were fired from companies like Facebook and Twitter for perfectly legitimate reasons and are now working at similarly-awesome companies as engineers. And this is a situation where the termination was 100% warranted and broadly known in "the incestuous Valley." I would have fired them had they done the same and I would have also hired them at another company, assuming they learned their lesson and otherwise seemed like people with integrity.

throwaway86 13y ago
I appreciate your thoughts and haven't taken them lightly. That's the thing, is this stupid college mistake on my record undermines my integrity. Never mind that I've been employed at multiple companies and been trusted with user data far and beyond what Google would ever trust me with. I would have hoped that after a five year history in this industry, I would have demonstrated some integrity. Not even my character references, who will happily vouch for my integrity, can sway these people. Remember folks, HR is not your advocate. They are risk mitigation.
- jfarmer 13y ago
  It sounds like you've decided your rejection is fait accompli. I don't think that's the case, but I'm not here to convince you otherwise. Good luck!
  - throwaway86 13y ago
    No, I have irons in the fire. I won't deny that it got me down, and I know that's coming across. Thank you for the support, I really appreciate it.
    - 13y ago