2.8 BOTTINI 8: BOTTINI, INC. Francis A. Bottini, (SBN 175783) Albert Y. Chang (SBN 296065) Yury A. Kolesnikov (SBN 271173) 7817 Ivanhoe Avenue, Suite 102 La ]olla, California 92037 Telephone: (858) 914-2001 Facsimile: (858) 914-2002 RENNE PUBLIC LAW GROUP Louise H. Renne (SBN 36508) Ann M. Ravel (Of Counsel) (SBN 62139) 350 Sansome Street, Suite 300 San Francisco, CA 94101 Telephone: (415) 848-7200 Facsimile: (415) 848-7230 Attorneys for Plainti?'james Martin MARTIN, derivatively on behalf of ALPHABET INC, Plaintiff, VS. LAWRENCE E. PAGE, SERGEY BRIN, ERIC E. SCHMIDT, ANDREW E. RUBIN, JOHN L. HENNESSY, LASZLO BOCK, L. JOHN DOERR, ROGER W. FERGUSON, DIANE B. GREENE, AMIT SINGHAL, ANN MATHER, ALAN R. MULALLY, SUNDAR PICHAI, K. RAM SHRIRAM, SHIRLEY M. TILGHMAN, DAVID DRUMMOND, and DOES 1130, Defendants, and - ALPHABET INC, Nominal Defendant. SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SAN MATEO . ENDORSED FILED SAN MATEO COUNTY JAN 1 0 2019 Clark of the Superior Court 9 Case No. 19CIV0019 SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR: BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY, UNJUST ENRICHMENT, ABUSE OF POWER, and CORPORATE WASTE REDACTED DEMAND FOR IURY TRIAL SI IARIZI COM PLA INT IA Scanned with CamScanner   1                                                TABLE OF CONTENTS  2 3 I.  NATURE AND SUMMARY OF THE ACTION ...........................................................5  4 II.  JURISDICTION AND VENUE ......................................................................................10  5 III.  THE PARTIES ..................................................................................................................11  6 A.  Plaintiff .................................................................................................................11  7 B.  Nominal Defendant ............................................................................................11  C.  Executive Officer Defendants ............................................................................11  D.  Director Defendants ............................................................................................15  11 E.  Former Director Defendant Tilghman .............................................................18  12 F.  Doe Defendants ...................................................................................................19  13 G.  Unnamed Participants ........................................................................................19  8 9 10 14 IV.  RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS ........20  15 A.  Responsibilities of the Individual Defendants................................................20  B.  Fiduciary Duties of the Individual Defendants ..............................................25  18 C.  Breaches of Fiduciary Duties by Individual Defendants ..............................26  19 D.  Conspiracy, Aiding and Abetting, and Concerted Action ............................27  20 V.  SUBSTANTIVE ALLEGATIONS ..................................................................................28  16 17 21 A.  Defendants Brin and Page, the Company’s Co‐Founders, as Well as  Other Senior Executives, Set the Tone at the Top by Dating  Employees and Having Extra‐Marital Affairs ................................................29  B.  In 2014 the Individual Defendants Investigated Allegations of  Sexual Harassment by Defendant Rubin, and Found the Allegations  To Be Credible, But Concealed Rubin’s Harassment and Instead  Gave Him a Hero’s Farewell by Paying Him $90 Million in  Severance ..............................................................................................................31  22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1   2 C.  The Board of Directors’ and Other Defendants’ Active, Direct, and  Intentional Role in the Wrongdoing.................................................................33  D.  Alphabet’s Current Board Failed to Come Clean in Late 2017, Even  After a News Report Surfaced That Suggested Impropriety by Rubin ......43  E.  Google Paid Another Executive, Amit Singhal, Millions After He  Sexually Harassed Google Employees .............................................................44  F.  Google Asked Other Victims of Sexual Harassment to “Stay Quiet”  After Their Allegations of Harassment Were Found to Be Credible ...........46  G.  The Director Defendants Caused Google to File False Financial  Statements With the SEC ...................................................................................48  H.  The Board’s Conduct Has Caused Substantial Damage to the  Company ..............................................................................................................51  3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 VI.  14 15 VII.  UNJUST COMPENSATION AWARDED TO SOME OF THE  DEFENDANTS ................................................................................................................55  DAMAGES TO ALPHABET AND GOOGLE .............................................................59  16 VIII.  DERIVATIVE AND DEMAND FUTILITY ALLEGATIONS ...................................60  17 18 A.  Demand Is Futile Because the Demand Directors Lack Independence ......60  B.  At the Outset, Demand Is Futile as to Defendants Page, Brin,  Schmidt, Greene and Pichai Because, as Alphabet Admits, These  “Inside” Demand Directors Lack Independence............................................61  C.  Demand Is Futile Because Defendants Page, Brin, and Schmidt  Dominate and Control the Board .....................................................................61  D.  Demand is Futile Because a Majority of the Board Completely  Abdicated Its Fiduciary Duties .........................................................................64  E.  Demand Is Futile Because a Majority of the Board Cannot Conduct  an Independent and Objective Investigation of the Misconduct Due  to Their Close Professional and Personal Relationships ...............................65  19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27   28 3  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1   2 F.  Demand Is Futile Because the Demand Defendants Face a  Substantial Likelihood of Liability for Their Misconduct .............................73  G.  The Statute of Limitations Does Not Bar Plaintiff’s Claims or,  Alternatively, Was Tolled ..................................................................................76  3 4 5 6 IX.  CAUSES OF ACTION ....................................................................................................77  7 X.  PRAYER FOR RELIEF ....................................................................................................79  8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28 4  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    Plaintiff  James  Martin  (“Plaintiff”),  by  and  through  his  undersigned  attorneys,  1 2 submits  this  Shareholder  Derivative  Complaint  against  certain  directors  and  officers  of  3 nominal  defendant  Alphabet  Inc.  (“Alphabet”  or  the  “Company”),  in  connection  with  4 their  breaches  of  fiduciary  duties.    In  support  of  these  claims,  Plaintiff  alleges  the  5 following (1) upon personal knowledge with respect to the matters pertaining to himself;  6 and (2) upon information and belief with respect to all other matters, based upon, inter  7 alia, the investigations undertaken by his counsel, which include a review of documents  8 produced  by  Alphabet  in  response  to  Plaintiff’s  shareholder  inspection  demand,  a  9 review  of  Alphabet’s  legal  and  regulatory  filings,  press  releases,  SEC  filings,  analyst  10 reports,  and  media  reports  about  the  Company.  Plaintiff  believes  that  substantial  11 additional  evidentiary  support  will  exist  for  the  allegations  set  forth  below  after  a  12 reasonable opportunity for discovery.  13 I. NATURE AND SUMMARY OF THE ACTION  14 1. Plaintiff  brings  this  shareholder  derivative  action  against  certain  officers  15 and  directors  of  Alphabet,  the  parent  company  of  Google  LLC  (“Google”),1  for  their  16 active and direct participation in a multi‐year scheme to cover up sexual harassment and  17 discrimination at Alphabet.  18 2. The  Individual  Defendants’  misconduct  has  caused  severe  financial  and  19 reputational  damage  to  both  Google  and  Alphabet.    As  one  current  Google  employee  20 succinctly put it:     21 When  Google  covers  up  harassment  and  passes  the  trash,  it  contributes  to  an  environment  where  people  don’t  feel  safe  reporting  22 misconduct.    They  suspect  that  nothing  will  happen  or,  worse,  that  the  men will be paid and the women will be pushed aside.  23 24 25                                                   1 Google is one of Alphabet’s subsidiaries.  As part of Alphabet’s reorganization in  26 2017, Google Inc. was converted into a limited liability company.  27 28 5  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 See  Daisuke  Wakabayashi  and  Katie  Benner,  “How  Google  Protected  Andy  Rubin,  the  2 ‘Father  of  Android,”  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  (Oct.  25,  2018)  (quoting  Liz  Fong‐Jones,  a  3 Google engineer).    4 3. The  Individual  Defendants  knew  about  sexual  harassment  by  numerous  5 senior  Google  executives,  including  defendant  Andy  Rubin  (the  creator  of  Android  6 mobile  software),  against  whom  credible  allegations  of  sexual  misconduct  were  7 confirmed  through  an  internal  investigation.    Instead  of  disciplining  these  senior  8 executives,  however,  the  Individual  Defendants  protected  them.    The  Individual  9 Defendants failed to timely disclose the harassment, and then attempted to cover up the  10 harassment when news reports began to suggest that egregious sexual harassment and  11 discrimination had occurred at Google.    12 4. For  example,  in  Rubin’s  case,  Rubin  was  allowed  to  quietly  resign  by  13 defendants  Larry  Page  and  Sergey  Brin  (Google’s  co‐founders  and  Alphabet’s  14 controlling shareholders) after an internal investigation found the allegations of sexual  15 harassment by Rubin to be credible.  As reported by The New York Times on October  16 26, 2018, Rubin coerced a Google employee to perform sex acts in 2013, while he was a  17 Google senior executive:    18 [A]n  employee  had  accused  Mr.  Rubin  of  sexual  misconduct.    The  woman,  with  whom  Mr.  Rubin  had  been  having  an  extra‐marital  19 relationship, said he coerced her into performing oral sex in a hotel room in  2013 ….  Google investigated and concluded her claim was credible ….  20 See Daisuke Wakabayashi & Katie Benner, “How Google Has Protected Its Elite Men,” THE  21 NEW YORK TIMES (Oct. 26, 2018).    22 5. While  at  Google,  Rubin  is  also  alleged  to  have  engaged  in  human  sex  23 trafficking –  paying  hundreds  of thousands of  dollars to  women to be,  in Rubin’s  own  24 words, “owned” by him.  Google, meanwhile, has paid lobbyists to oppose legislation in  25 Washington  that  had  bi‐partisan  support  and  sought  to  combat  human  sex  trafficking.   26 See David McCabe, “Sex Trafficking Bill Hits a Nerve in Silicon Valley,” AXIOS, Sept. 7,  27 2017 (noting that Google’s “trade associations and the think tanks they fund have come  28 6  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 out swinging against the bill.”). See also Lisa Correnti, “Google Attempts to Block Bill to  2 Hold  Sex‐Traffickers  Accountable,”  CENTER  FOR  HUMAN  AND  FAMILY  RIGHTS,  Aug.  24,  3 2017,  available  at  https://c‐fam.org/friday_fax/google‐attempts‐block‐bill‐hold‐sex‐ 4 traffickers‐accountable/ last visited Jan. 5, 2019 (“Google and the tech lobby are working  5 to derail the passage of a bill to protect girls from online sex traffickers.”).2    6 6. However,  rather  than firing Rubin for cause, Brin and Page gave  Rubin a  7 hero’s  farewell.    Together  with  other  members  of  Alphabet’s  Board  of  Directors  (the  8 “Board”),  Brin  and  Page  allow  Rubin  to  resign  and  approved  a  $90  million  “exit  9 package,” as a goodbye present to him.  No mention, of course, was made about the true  10 reason  for  Rubin’s  “resignation”  —  his  egregious  sexual  harassment  while  at  Google.   11 Instead, Page said in a public statement: “I want to wish Andy all the best with what’s  12 next”!3   After Mr. Rubin left, Google also invested millions of dollars in his next venture.  13 7. Similarly,  Amit  Singhal,  a  senior  executive  at  Google,  was  allowed  to  14 quietly resign at Google in 2016 in the wake of credible allegations of sexual harassment,  15 and  was  paid  millions  in  severance.    He  then  joined  Uber,  but  failed  to  disclose  the  16 allegations.    He  was  fired  by  Uber  in  February  2017  for  failing  to  disclose  the  credible  17 allegations of sexual harassment while at Google.  Google never disclosed the reason for  18 Singhal’s departure.   19 20 21 22 23 24                                                   2  See  also  John  M.  Simpson,  Consumer  Watchdog  blog,  available  at  https://www.consumerwatchdog.org/newsrelease/report‐shows‐how‐google‐funded‐ defense‐child‐sex‐trafficking‐hub,  last  visited Jan.  5,  2019 (“A  coalition  of  anti‐child  sex  trafficking  and  public  interest  groups,  and  the  mother  of  a  trafficking  victim,  today  released a report detailing how a Google‐funded campaign protects a law that shields a  notorious  hub  of  child  sex‐trafficking,  Backpage.com,  from  any  accountability  for  its  activities.”).     See  Daisuke  Wakabayashi  &  Katie  Benner,  “How  Google  Has  Protected  Its  Elite  Men,” THE NEW YORK TIMES (Oct. 26, 2018).    26   25 3 27 28 7  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 8. When Google employees found out about the Board’s deliberate cover‐up  2 of  sexual  harassment  by  top‐level  executives,  they  were  furious.    Tens  of  thousands  of  3 Google  employees  engaged  in  a  coordinated  “walk‐out”  to  protest  the  Board’s  4 wrongdoing on November 1, 2018:    5 Thousands of Google employees around the world staged a series of  walkouts Thursday to protest a workplace culture that they say promotes  6 and protects perpetrators of sexual harassment at the tech giant.  7 See  Douglas  MacMillan  et  al.,  “Google  Employees  Stage  Global  Walkout  Over  Treatment  of  8 Sexual Harassment,” THE WALL STREET JOURNAL (Nov. 1, 2018).  See also Exhibit A.   9 9. Touting  its  mottos  of  “Don’t  Be  Evil”  and  “Do  the  Right  Thing,”  Google  10 frequently  states  that  the  Board  is  held  to  the  highest  level  of  ethics.    However,  as  11 demonstrated  herein,  this  statement  is  false  and,  in  practice,  Alphabet’s  Board  12 employed a completely dual and contradictory standard:  If you were a high‐level male  13 executive  at  Google  responsible  for  generating  millions  of  dollars  in  revenue,  Google  14 would let you engage in sexual harassment.  And if you get caught, Google would keep  15 it quiet, let you resign, and pay you millions of dollars in severance.  16 10.  On the other hand, if you were a low‐level employee at Google and were  17 accused of sexual harassment or discrimination, you would be fired for cause with no  18 severance  benefits.   In this way,  Alphabet  and the  Board  were able to maintain optics  19 and superficial compliance with its code of conduct, internal rules, and laws regarding  20 sexual harassment.  By appearing to take decisive action against a significant number of  21 low‐level employees, and by concealing the blatant and widespread sexual harassment  22 by senior Google executives, the Board avoided a much bigger scandal.  23 11. The Directors’ wrongful conduct allowed the illegal conduct to proliferate  24 and continue.  As such, members of Alphabet’s Board were knowing and direct enablers  25 of  the  sexual  harassment  and  discrimination.    Thus,  the  Board  not  only  violated  26 California and federal law, it also violated Alphabet’s ethical standards and guidelines  27 28 8  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 and caused massive employee protests and revolts to occur when the truth came to light  2 in late October 2018.  3 12. This  is  not  a  “failure  to  supervise”  case.    The  Board,  as  demonstrated  4 herein,  was  directly  involved  in  and  approved  the  $90  million  severance  payment  to  5 Rubin,  was  directly  involved  in  and  approved  the  severance  payment  to  Defendant  6 Singhal,  who  also  engaged  in  sexual  harassment  and  discrimination,  and  made  a  7 conscious and intentional (and bad‐faith) decision to conceal the sexual harassment at  8 Google, thereby also breaching its duties of candor and good faith.    9 13. The  conduct  of  Rubin  and  other  executives  was  disgusting,  illegal,  10 immoral,  degrading  to  women,  and  contrary  to  every  principle  that  Google  claims  it  11 abides by.  Rubin was engaging in sex trafficking of women, and Google itself had found  12 bondage  videos  on  Rubin’s  work  computer  at  Google.    Far  from  firing  him  for  cause,  13 Google  and  the  Board  merely  docked  Rubin’s  bonus  slightly  in  the  year  Google  14 discovered the bondage sex film, and then later gave him a hero’s farewell when he was  15 finally fired  along  with a  $90 million severance.4 Rubinʹs  ex‐wife  said in a civil  lawsuit  16 that he had multiple ʺownership relationshipsʺ with other women, with a screenshot of  17 an email reading, ʺBeing owned is kinda like you are my property, and I can loan you to  18 other people.ʺ5  19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26                                                   4  See  Corbin  Davenport,  “Google  Allegedly  Paid  $90  Million  Severance  to  Andy  Rubin  After  Misconduct  Allegation,”  THE  ANDROID  POLICE,  Oct.  30,  2018,  available  at  https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/10/30/google‐allegedly‐paid‐90‐million‐severance‐ andy‐rubin‐misconduct‐allegation/,  last  visited  Jan.  5,  2019.    See  also  Daisuke  Wakabayashi  &  Katie  Benner,  “How  Google  Protected  Andy  Rubin,  the  ‘Father  of  Android,’” THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES (Oct. 25, 2018) (“Mr. Rubin often berated subordinates  as stupid or incompetent, they said. Google did little to curb that behavior. It took action  only when security staff found bondage sex videos on Mr. Rubin’s work computer, said  three  former  and  current  Google  executives  briefed  on  the  incident.  That  year,  the  company  docked  his  bonus,  they  said.”),  available  at  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/technology/google‐sexual‐harassment‐andy‐ rubin.html, last visited Jan. 5, 2019.    5 Id.   27 28 9  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    14. 1 The  Individual  Defendants’  misconduct,  as  set  forth  below,  constitutes  2 bad  faith  and  disloyal  acts,  giving  rise  to  claims  that  fall  outside  the  scope  of  the  3 business judgment rule and outside of permissible indemnification by Alphabet.  As a  4 result,  all  members  of  the  Board  face  a  substantial  likelihood  of  liability  and  any  5 demand  on  them  to  bring  this  case  would  be  a  futile  and  useless  act.    Moreover,  as  6 defendants  Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt  control  the  majority  of  Alphabet’s  voting  power,  7 they exercise domination and control over Alphabet’s Board and management.  Finally,  8 as Alphabet admits, five “inside” directors are not independent under Alphabet’s own  9 “independence standards.”  Plaintiff was therefore excused from making any demand  10 prior to filing this complaint.   11 II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE  12 15. This Court has jurisdiction over all causes of action herein pursuant to the  13 California Constitution, Article VI, section 10, because this case is a cause not given by  14 statute to other trial courts.  This is a shareholder derivative action brought pursuant to  15 California Corporations Code section 800 to remedy defendants’ violations of law.  16 16. The  amount  in  controversy,  exclusive  of  interest  and  costs,  exceeds  the  17 jurisdictional minimum of this Court.    18 17. Furthermore,  this  Court  has  general  jurisdiction  over  each  named  19 defendant  who  is  a  resident  of  California.    Additionally,  this  Court  has  specific  20 jurisdiction  over  each  non‐resident  defendant  because  these  defendants  maintain  21 sufficient  minimum  contacts  with  California  as  directors  or  officers  of  Alphabet  and  22 Google, to render jurisdiction by this Court permissible under traditional notions of fair  23 play and substantial justice.  Because the claims asserted in this Complaint are brought  24 derivatively  on  behalf  of  a  California‐headquartered  corporation,  defendants’  conduct  25 was  purposefully  directed  at  California.    Finally,  exercising  jurisdiction  over  any  non‐ 26 resident defendant is reasonable under these circumstances.  27 28 10  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    18. 1 Venue  is  proper  in  this  Court.    A  substantial  part  of  the  events  or  2 omissions  giving  rise  to  the  claims  alleged  occurred  in  San  Mateo  County.    Because  a  3 significant  amount  of  the  harm,  as  well  as  important  evidence,  is  located  within  this  4 jurisdiction, this is the best venue for this action.  Each defendant has sufficient contacts  5 with this jurisdiction that venue in this jurisdiction is appropriate.  Moreover, because  6 several  defendants  (including  Rubin,  Schmidt,  Doerr,  Hennessy,  and  Shriram)  reside  7 within San Mateo County, the exercise of jurisdiction by this Court is appropriate.  8 III. THE PARTIES  9 A. Plaintiff  10 19. Plaintiff  is  a  current  shareholder  of  Alphabet,  and  has  continuously  held  11 Alphabet stock since at least October 27, 2009.   12 B. Nominal Defendant  13 20. Nominal  defendant  Alphabet  Inc.  is  a  Delaware  corporation  with  14 principal  executive  offices  located  at  1600  Amphitheatre  Parkway,  Mountain  View,  15 California.  Alphabet’s main subsidiary, Google, is a global technology leader, primarily  16 focused  around  the  following  key  areas:  search,  advertising,  operating  systems  and  17 platforms,  enterprise,  and  hardware  products.    Google  generates  most  of  its  revenue  18 primarily by delivering relevant, cost‐effective online advertising.  19 C. Executive Officer Defendants  20 21. Defendant  Lawrence  E.  Page  is  a  director  of  Alphabet  and  has  been  a  21 member of the Board since September 1998.  Page is Alphabet’s Chief Executive Officer  22 (“CEO”),  and  has  held  that  position  since  April  2011.    Page  also  held  several  senior  23 executive  positions  at  Google,  including  President,  Products  from  July  2001  to  April  24 2011, Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) from September 1998 to July 2002, and CEO from  25 September 1998 to July 2001.  Page co‐founded Google in 1998.  Since Alphabet’s initial  26 public  offering  (“IPO”)  in  2004,  Page  has  continuously  owned  over  40%  of  Alphabet’s  27 Class B common stock, and controlled over 25% of Alphabet’s total voting power.  Page,  28 11  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 together with defendants Sergey Brin, Eric E. Schmidt, and John Doerr, exercise control  2 and  domination  over  the  Board.    As  admitted  in  Alphabet’s  April  27,  2018  Proxy  3 Statement,  Page  is  not  an  independent  director  under  Alphabet’s  own  “independence  4 standards,”  which  “mirror  the  criteria  specified  by  applicable  laws  and  regulations  of  5 the SEC and the Listing Rules of NASDAQ.”  Page knowingly or recklessly: (a) failed to  6 implement  and  maintain  adequate  internal  controls  at  Alphabet;  (b)  fostered  a  culture  7 that  permitted  rampant  sexual  harassment  and  discrimination  at  Google;  (c)  actively  8 participated  in  the  cover‐up  of  Google  executives’  sexual  harassment;  and  (d)  failed  to  9 ensure  that  Google  complied  with  rules  and  regulations  regarding  sexual  harassment  10 and discrimination.  11 22. Defendant Sergey Brin is a director of Alphabet and has been a member of  12 the Board since September 1998.  Brin currently directs special projects for Google.  Brin  13 was  Google’s  President  of  Technology  from  July  2001  to  April  2011  and  President  and  14 Chairman  of  the  Board  from  September  1998  to  July  2001.    Brin  co‐founded  Google  in  15 1998.    Since  Alphabet’s  IPO  in  2004,  Brin  has  continuously  owned  over  40%  of  16 Alphabet’s  Class  B  common  stock,  and  controlled  over  25%  of  Alphabet’s  total  voting  17 power.  Thus, Brin and Page together control the majority of Alphabet’s voting power.   18 Brin,  together  with  defendants  Larry  Page,  Eric  E.  Schmidt,  and  John  Doerr,  exercise  19 control and domination over the Board.  As admitted in Alphabet’s April 27, 2018 Proxy  20 Statement,  Brin  is  not  an  independent  director  under  Alphabet’s  own  “independence  21 standards,”  which  “mirror  the  criteria  specified  by  applicable  laws  and  regulations  of  22 the SEC and the Listing Rules of NASDAQ.”  Brin knowingly or recklessly: (a) failed to  23 implement  and  maintain  adequate  internal  controls  at  Alphabet;  (b)  fostered  a  culture  24 that  permitted  rampant  sexual  harassment  and  discrimination  at  Google;  (c)  actively  25 participated  in  the  cover‐up  of  Google  executives’  sexual  harassment;  and  (d)  failed  to  26 ensure  that  Google  complied  with  rules  and  regulations  regarding  sexual  harassment  27 and discrimination.    28 12  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 23. Defendant  Eric  E.  Schmidt  is  a  director  of  Alphabet  and  has  been  a  2 member  of  the  Board  since  March  2001.    Schmidt  has  been  Alphabet’s  Executive  3 Chairman  of  the  Board  since  April  2011.    Schmidt  was  also  Google’s  CEO  from  July  4 2001 to April 2011 and Chairman of the Board from April 2007 to April 2011, and from  5 March  2001  to  April  2004.    Schmidt  was  introduced  to  defendants  Page  and  Brin  6 through defendant L.  John  Doerr, one of Google’s earliest investors.  Since Alphabet’s  7 IPO in 2004, Schmidt has continuously owned millions of shares of Alphabet’s Class B  8 common  stock,  and  controlled  over  5%  of  Alphabet’s  total  voting  power.    Schmidt,  9 together with defendants Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and John Doerr, exercise control and  10 domination over the Board.  As admitted in Alphabet’s April 27, 2018 Proxy Statement,  11 Schmidt  is  not  an  independent  director  under  Alphabet’s  own  “independence  12 standards,”  which  “mirror  the  criteria  specified  by  applicable  laws  and  regulations  of  13 the  SEC  and  the  Listing  Rules  of  NASDAQ.”    Schmidt  knowingly  or  recklessly:  (a)  14 failed to implement and maintain adequate internal controls at Alphabet; (b) fostered a  15 culture  that  permitted  rampant  sexual  harassment  and  discrimination  at  Google;  (c)  16 actively  participated  in  the  cover‐up  of  Google  executives’  sexual  harassment;  and  (d)  17 failed  to  ensure  that  Google  complied  with  rules  and  regulations  regarding  sexual  18 harassment and discrimination. Schmidt lives in Atherton, which is part of San Mateo  19 County.   20 24. Defendant Andrew E. Rubin was a senior executive officer at Google from  21 July 2005 to October 2014.  Rubin became Google’s senior vice president of mobile and  22 digital  content  in  July  2005,  when  Google  acquired  Android.  In  March  2013,  Rubin  23 moved  from  Google’s  Android  division  to  take  on  new  projects,  including  the  24 management of Google’s robotics division.  In 2014, defendant Page (Alphabet’s CEO)  25 asked  Rubin  to  resign  in  light  of  an  internal  investigation  that  found  allegations  of  26 sexual  harassment  by  Rubin  to  be  credible.    However,  Alphabet’s  Board,  chaired  by  27 defendant  Schmidt  at  the  time,  decided  to  conceal  the  allegations  of  harassment  by  28 13  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Rubin.    Instead  of  firing  Rubin  for  cause,  the  Board  bestowed  a  lavish  $90  million  2 severance  package  on  him.    After  leaving  Google,  Rubin  co‐founded  incubator  3 Playground  Global,  where  he  subsequently  developed  Essential  Products,  a  maker  of  4 technology  devices,  such  as  smartphones.    Google  invested  in  Playground  Global.   5 Rubin lives in San Mateo County.   6 25. Defendant  Laszlo  Bock  is  the  former  Senior  Vice  President  of  People  &  7 Operations  at  Google,  Inc.    While  at  Google,  Bock  was  heavily  involved  in  matters  8 regarding  the  investigation  of  sexual  harassment  by  executives  at  Google  and  the  9 payments to Rubin and others to keep the sexual harassment quiet, thereby perpetuating  10 the serious problems.    11 26. Defendant  David  C.  Drummond  is  Alphabet’s  Senior  Vice  President  of  12 corporate  development  and  Chief  Legal  Officer.    Drummond  joined  Google  in  1998  13 from  Wilson  Sonsini  Goodrich  &  Rosati’s  corporate  transactions  group.    Drummond  14 was Google’s first outside counsel.  Drummond had an extra‐marital relationship with  15 one  of  his  subordinates  at  Google,  Jennifer  Blakely,  a  contract  manager  in  the  legal  16 department who reported to one of Drummond’s deputies.  Drummond concealed his  17 affair  with  Blakely  from  the  Company  until  he  and  Blakely  had  a  son  in  2007,  after  18 which Drummond disclosed his relationship with Blakely.  Blakely has alleged that she,  19 rather  than  Drummond,  was  later  demoted  by  being  transferred  to  sales  in  2007  and  20 then forced out of the Company a year later.  In late 2008, Drummond ended this extra‐ 21 marital relationship and they later fought a custody battle for their son, won by Blakely.   22 Drummond  has been  paid  about  $190 million in stock  options and  stock  awards  from  23 Google  since  2011  and  could  earn  up  to  another  $200  million  on  other  options  and  24 equity awards according to Google filings.  During the time he was receiving these huge  25 compensation  awards,  Defendant  Drummond  had  knowledge  of  pervasive  sexual  26 harassment  by  Google  executives  and  was  complicit  in  failing  to  disclose  the  27 harassment and taking steps to cover it up.  28 14  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 27. Defendant Sundar Pichai is director of Alphabet and has been a member of  2 the Board since July 2017.  Pichai is also Google’s CEO, and has held that position since  3 October  2015.    Previously,  Pichai  was  Google’s  Product  Chief.    As  admitted  in  4 Alphabet’s April 27, 2018 Proxy Statement, Pichai is not an independent director under  5 Alphabet’s  own  “independence  standards,”  which  “mirror  the  criteria  specified  by  6 applicable laws and regulations of the SEC and the Listing Rules of NASDAQ.”  Pichai  7 had knowledge of pervasive sexual harassment by Google executives and was complicit  8 in failing to disclose the harassment and taking steps to cover it up.    9 28. Defendant  Amit  Singhal  was  an  Executive  Vice  President  and  Head  of  10 Search  at  Google.    Singhal  was  forced  out  at  Google  after  Google  had  determined  that  11 credible allegations against Singhal of sexual harassment existed.    12 D. Director Defendants  13 29. Defendant L. John Doerr is a director of Alphabet and has been a member  14 of  the  Board  since  May  1999.    Doerr  is  currently  the  chair  of  Google’s  Leadership  15 Development  and  Compensation  Committee  (“LDCC”),  in  which  he  was  a  member  16 from  at  least  April  2005  to  May  2007,  from  October  2009  to  December  2015,  and  from  17 June 2016 to the present.  As a member of LDCC in 2014, Doerr, together with the other  18 two  LDCC  members  (defendant  K.  Ram  Shriram  and  nonparty  Paul  S.  Otellini),6  19 reviewed  and  approved  the  compensation  to  defendant  Rubin,  including  the  $150  20 million  stock  grant  and  $90  million  severance  package.    Doerr  was  also  a  member  of  21 Google’s  Audit  Committee  from  May  2007  to  January  2012.    Doerr  is  a  partner  and  22 Chairman  of  Kleiner  Perkins,  a  venture  capital  investment  firm  that  was  itself  a  23 defendant  in  a  high‐profile,  multi‐million‐dollar  sexual‐harassment  and  gender‐ 24                                                   6 Defendant K. Ram Shriram was appointed to the LDCC in July 2014.  Before his  25 appointment,  the  LDCC  had  two  members  —  defendant  Doerr  and  nonparty  Paul  S.  Otellini.  Defendant Doerr was appointed to serve as chair of the LDCC in October 2017,  26 following the death of Mr. Otellini.  27 28 15  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 discrimination lawsuit filed in 2012 by Ellen Pao, Doerr’s mentee, in the Superior Court  2 of California, County of San Francisco, captioned Pao v. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers  3 LLC,  Case  No.  CGC‐12‐520719  (Cal.  Super.  Ct.  Cnty.  of  San  Francisco).7    Doerr  4 knowingly  or  recklessly:  (a)  allowed  defendants  Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt  to  dominate  5 and control the Board with little  to no effective oversight; (b) failed to implement and  6 maintain  adequate  internal  controls  at  Alphabet;  (c)  fostered  a  culture  that  permitted  7 rampant sexual harassment and discrimination at Google; (d) on information and belief,  8 actively  participated  in  the  cover‐up  of  Google  executives’  sexual  harassment;  and  (e)  9 failed  to  ensure  that  Google  complied  with  rules  and  regulations  regarding  sexual  10 harassment  and  discrimination.    Doerr  lives  in  Woodside,  California,  which  is  part  of  11 San Mateo County.   12 30. Defendant Ann Mather is a director of Alphabet and has been a member  13 of the Board since November 2005.  Mather has also been Chairman of Google’s Audit  14 Committee  since  November  2005.    Mather  knowingly  or  recklessly:  (a)  allowed  15 defendants Page, Brin, and Schmidt to dominate and control the Board with little to no  16 effective  oversight;  (b)  failed  to  implement  and  maintain  adequate  internal  controls  at  17 Alphabet;  (c)  fostered  a  culture  that  permitted  rampant  sexual  harassment  and  18 discrimination  at  Google;  (d)  on  information  and  belief,  actively  participated  in  the  19 cover‐up of Google executives’ sexual harassment; and (e) failed to ensure that Google  20 complied with rules and regulations regarding sexual harassment and discrimination.    21 31. Defendant Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is a director of Alphabet and has been a  22 member  of the  Board since  June 2016.   Ferguson is  a member  of the Audit Committee.   23 24                                                   7  See  Pao  v.  Kleiner  Perkins,  WIKIPEDIA  (available  at  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/  25 Pao_v._  Kleiner_Perkins  (last  visited  Jan.  5,  2019));  see  also  David  Streitfeld,  “Ellen  Pao  Loses  Silicon  Valley  Bias  Case  Against  Kleiner  Perkins,”  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  (Mar.  27,  26 2015).  27 28 16  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Ferguson had knowledge of pervasive sexual harassment by Google executives and was  2 complicit in failing to disclose the harassment and taking steps to cover it up.  32. 3 Defendant  Diane  B.  Greene  is  a  director  of  Alphabet  and  has  been  a  4 member  of  the  Board  since  January  2012.    Greene  was  a  member  of  Google  and  5 Alphabet’s  Audit  Committee  in  2014,  at  the  time  of  the  internal  investigation  into  6 Rubin’s sexual harassment, including at the time the $90 million severance payment to  7 Rubin  was  approved  by  the  Board.    Greene  is  also  Senior  Vice  President  and  CEO,  8 Google Cloud.  As admitted in Alphabet’s April 27, 2018 Proxy Statement, Greene is not  9 an  independent  director  under  Alphabet’s  own  “independence  standards,”  which  10 “mirror  the  criteria  specified  by  applicable  laws  and  regulations  of  the  SEC  and  the  11 Listing  Rules  of  NASDAQ.”    Greene  knowingly  or  recklessly:  (a)  allowed  defendants  12 Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt  to  dominate  and  control  the  Board  with  little  to  no  effective  13 oversight; (b) failed to implement and maintain adequate internal controls at Alphabet;  14 (c)  fostered  a  culture  that  permitted  rampant  sexual  harassment  and  discrimination  at  15 Google;  (d)  on  information  and  belief,  actively  participated  in  the  cover‐up  of  Google  16 executives’ sexual harassment; and (e) failed to ensure that Google complied with rules  17 and regulations regarding sexual harassment and discrimination.  33. 18 Defendant  John  L.  Hennessy  is  a  director  of  Alphabet  and  has  been  a  19 member of the Board since April 2004.  Hennessy has been Google’s Lead Independent  20 Director since April 2007.  At the time the Board asked for Rubin’s resignation in 2014,  21 Hennessy  was  President  of  Stanford  University.    Famously  called  “the  godfather  of  22 Silicon  Valley,”  Hennessy  has  significant  influence  in  Silicon  Valley.    Hennessy  had  23 knowledge  of  pervasive  sexual  harassment  by  Google  executives  and  was  complicit  in  24 failing  to  disclose  the  harassment  and  taking  steps  to  cover  it  up.    Hennessy  lives  in  25 Atherton, California, which is part of San Mateo County.   26 ///  27 ///  28 17  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 34. Defendant  Alan  R.  Mulally  is  a  director  of  Alphabet  and  has  been  a  2 member of the Board since July 2014.  Mulally served on Google and Alphabet’s Audit  3 Committee  at  the  time  of  the  internal  investigation  into  Rubin’s  sexual  harassment,  4 including at the time the $90 million severance payment to Rubin was approved by the  5 Board.    Mulally  had  knowledge  of  pervasive  sexual  harassment  by  Google  executives  6 and was complicit in failing to disclose the harassment and taking steps to cover it up.  7 35. Defendant  K.  Ram  Shriram  is  a  director  of  Alphabet  and  has  been  a  8 member  of  the  Board  since  September  1998.    Shriram  is  currently  a  member  of  the  9 LDCC, and has been a member since at least July 2014.  In 2014, Shriram was a member  10 of  the  Audit  Committee  until  July  2014,  around  the  time  of  the  internal  investigation  11 into  Rubin’s  sexual  harassment,  including  at  the  time  the  $90  million  severance  12 payment  to  Rubin  was  approved  by  the  Board.    As  a  member  of  the  LDCC  in  2014,  13 Shriram,  together  with  the  other  two  LDCC  members  (defendant  Doerr  and  nonparty  14 Paul  S.  Otellini),  reviewed  and  approved  the  compensation  to  defendant  Rubin,  15 including the $150 million stock grant and $90 million severance package.  Shriram was  16 a  member of  Alphabet’s Audit Committee from  April  2005 and to July 2014.   Shriram  17 knowingly  or  recklessly:  (a)  allowed  defendants  Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt  to  dominate  18 and control the Board with little  to no effective oversight; (b) failed to implement and  19 maintain  adequate  internal  controls  at  Alphabet;  (c)  fostered  a  culture  that  permitted  20 rampant sexual harassment and discrimination at Google; (d) on information and belief,  21 actively  participated  in  the  cover‐up  of  Google  executives’  sexual  harassment;  and  (e)  22 failed  to  ensure  that  Google  complied  with  rules  and  regulations  regarding  sexual  23 harassment and discrimination.  Shriram lives in Menlo Park, California, which is part  24 of San Mateo County.   25 E. Former Director Defendant Tilghman  26 36. Defendant  Shirley  M.  Tilghman  was  director  of  Alphabet  from  October  27 2005 until February 2018.  Tilghman was on the Board when Rubin was asked to resign  28 18  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 and approved his $90 million severance package notwithstanding the fact that Google  2 had performed an internal investigation and found the allegations of sexual harassment  3 by  Rubin  to  be  credible.    Tilghman  also  failed  to  cause  such  facts  to  be  disclosed  by  4 Google.    Tilghman  had  knowledge  of  pervasive  sexual  harassment  by  Google  5 executives  and  was  complicit  in  failing  to  disclose  the  harassment  and  taking  steps  to  6 cover it up.   7 37. The defendants identified in ¶¶ 21‐28 are referred to herein as the “Officer  8 Defendants.”    The  Defendants  identified  in  ¶¶  29‐36  are  referred  to  herein  as  the  9 “Director  Defendants.”    Collectively,  all  defendants  are  referred  to  herein  as  the  10 “Individual Defendants.”  11 F. Doe Defendants  12 38. Except  as  described  herein,  Plaintiff  is  ignorant  of  the  true  names  of  13 defendants  sued  as  Does  1  through  30,  inclusive,  under  California  Code  of  Civil  14 Procedure section  474  and,  therefore,  Plaintiff  sues  these  defendants  by  such  fictitious  15 names.    Following  further  investigation  and  discovery,  Plaintiff  will  seek  leave  of  this  16 Court  to  amend  this  Complaint  to  allege  their  true  names  and  capacities  when  17 ascertained.    These  fictitiously  named  defendants  are  Google  and  Alphabet  officers,  18 other  members  of  management,  employees,  and/or  consultants  or  third  parties  who  19 were involved in the wrongdoing detailed herein.  These defendants aided and abetted,  20 and participated with and/or conspired with the named defendants in the wrongful acts  21 and course of conduct or otherwise caused the damages and injuries claimed herein and  22 are  responsible  in  some  manner  for  the  acts,  occurrences,  and  events  alleged  in  this  23 Complaint.  G. Unnamed Participants  24 39. Numerous individuals and entities participated actively during the course  25 of and in furtherance of the wrongdoing described herein.  The individuals and entities  26 acted in concert by joint ventures and by acting as agents for principals, to advance the  27 28 19  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 objectives  of  the  scheme  and  to  provide  the  scheme  to  benefit  defendants  and  2 themselves to the detriment of Alphabet and Google.  3 IV. RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS  4 A. Responsibilities of the Individual Defendants  5 40. Corporate  officers  and  directors  owe  the  highest  fiduciary  duties  of  care  6 and loyalty to the corporation they serve.  This action involves a massive breach of such  7 duties  relating  to  Google’s  policies  concerning  sexual  harassment  and  discrimination.   8 Alphabet’s Board knew about allegations of sexual harassment by numerous high‐level  9 executives  at  Google,  which  the  Company  found  to  be  “credible”  after  performing  10 internal  investigations  and  review,  and  yet  failed  to  disclose  the  finding  that  the  11 allegations  were  credible,  and  instead  allowed  the  high‐level  executives  to  resign  with  12 lavish pay packages.  In stark contrast, low‐level employees who were accused of sexual  13 harassment  were  fired  for  cause  and  received  no  severance  benefits  (according  to  14 Google,  it  terminated  the  employment  of  48  such  persons  in  the  last  two  years  alone).   15 This  lawsuit is being  brought  by  Plaintiff on behalf  of Alphabet to  seek  redress  for  the  16 financial and reputational harm suffered by the Company as a result.  17 41. Google  frequently  states  that  the  Board  is  held  to  the  highest  level  of  18 ethics.  However, as demonstrated above, this statement is false and, in practice, Google  19 employed  a  completely  dual  and  contradictory  standard:    if  you  were  a  high‐level  20 executive at Google responsible for generating millions of dollars in revenue for Google,  21 you could engage in sexual harassment and the Company would keep it quiet and pay  22 you millions of dollars to quietly leave the Company.  23 42.  On the other hand, if you were a low‐level employee at Google and were  24 accused  of  sexual  harassment  or  discrimination,  you  would  be  fired  for  cause  and  25 would  not  receive  any  severance  benefits.    In  this  way,  Alphabet  and  the  Board  were  26 able to maintain optics and superficial compliance with the Company’s code of conduct  27 and internal rules and laws regarding sexual harassment by appearing to take decisive  28 20  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 action  against  a  significant  number  of  low‐level  employees,  yet  avoid  a  much  bigger  2 public  scandal  and  hit  to  its  profits  by  concealing  the  blatant  and  widespread  sexual  3 harassment by senior executives of the Company.    4 43. The  Directors’  conduct  in  fact  allowed  the  illegal  conduct  to  proliferate  5 and  continue.    By  so  doing,  the  Board  not  only  violated  California  and  federal  law,  it  6 also violated Alphabet’s ethical standards and guidelines and caused massive employee  7 protests and revolts to occur when the truth came to light in late October 2018.  8 44.   The  Board’s  egregious  wrongdoing  resulted  in  a  massive  employee  9 “walk out” on November 1, 2018 in Google’s offices across the world.  Employees were  10 enraged  that  the  Board  knowingly  allowed  this  “dual  standard”  to  persist  at  Google,  11 that  the  Board  never  disclosed  the  serious  sexual  harassment  by  senior  executives  at  12 Google,  and  that  Google  paid  millions  of  dollars  to  the  senior  executives  who  were  13 allowed to resign rather than being fired for cause like low‐level employees.  14 45. Employee  outrage  was  understandable  given  Google’s  repeated  15 statements over the years that its Board and senior executives were subject to the same  16 exacting  standard  as  all  employees:    For  example,  in  a  “Message  from  our  Executive  17 Chairman,” defendant Schmidt stated:     18 We  believe  in  the  importance  of  building  stockholder  trust.    We  adhere  to  the  highest  levels  of  ethical  business  practices,  as  embodied  by  19 the Google Code of Conduct, which provides guidelines for ethical conduct  by our directors, officers and employees.  We think that we’ve created the  20 optimal  corporate  structure  to  realize  Google’s  long‐term  potential  and  have  established  the  appropriate  financial  controls  and  management  21 oversight of our internal process.  22 46. Alphabet’s  Code  of  Conduct  specifically  states  that  it  applies  to  the  23 Company’s Board and senior executives, not just rank‐and‐file employees:    24 Who Must Follow Our Code?  We  expect  all  of  our  employees  and  Board  members  to  know  and  25 follow the Code. Failure to do so can result in disciplinary action, including  termination of employment.  26 47. The  Code  of  Conduct  further  states  the  responsibility  and  duties  of  the  27 Board.   28 21  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 2 3 4 5   Principal Duties of the Board of Directors    To  Oversee  Management  and  Evaluate  Strategy.    The  fundamental  responsibility of the directors is to exercise their business judgment to act  in what they reasonably believe to be the best interests of Google and its  stockholders.    It  is  the  duty  of  the  Board  to  oversee  management’s  performance  to  ensure  that  Google  operates  in  an  effective,  efficient  and  ethical manner in order to produce value for Google’s stockholders.    48. The  Board  failed  to  live  up  to  its  duties  by  concealing  the  sexual  6 harassment  of  high‐level  executives  and  paying  them  millions  of  dollars  when  they  7 “resigned,”  notwithstanding  the  Board’s  determination  that  the  allegations  of  sexual  8 harassment  against  such  senior  executives  were  credible.    For  example,  in  2014  9 Defendant  Rubin  was  “asked  to  leave”  by  Defendants  Brin  and  Page  after  Google  10 conducted an internal investigation which found that the allegations against Rubin were  11 credible.  Brin, Page, and the rest of Alphabet’s Board not only failed to disclose Rubin’s  12 sexual harassment and the fact that the Company found the allegations of harassment to  13 be credible, but gave Rubin a hero’s farewell party and paid him $90 million.  By such  14 despicable  conduct,  Alphabet’s  Board  breached  its  fiduciary  duties  of  good  faith  and  15 loyalty  and  violated  the  Company’s  policies  requiring  them  to  act  in  an  “effective  and  16 ethical manner.”  17 49. Additionally,  the  Code  of  Conduct  goes  further  to  discuss  the  Board’s  18 19 20 21 22 23 24 responsibility in regards to oversight:    The  Board  is  responsible  for  oversight  of  strategic,  financial  and  execution  risks and  exposures associated with Google’s business strategy,  product  innovation  and  sales  road  map,  policy  matters,  significant  litigation  and  regulatory  exposures,  and  other  current  matters  that  may  present  material  risk  to  Google’s  financial  performance,  operations,  infrastructure, plans, prospects or reputation, acquisitions and divestitures.   Directors  are  expected  to  invest  the  time  and  effort  necessary  to  understand Google’s business and financial strategies and challenges.  50. The  Board  is  responsible  for  oversight  in  regards  to  policy  matters,  25 litigation,  and  other  matters  that  could  affect  Google’s  prospects  and  reputation.    It  is  26 clear  from  recently  disclosed  evidence  that  the  Board  knowingly  facilitated  sexual  27 harassment by senior executives of the Company, and then was also directly involved in  28 22  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 the  cover‐up  of  such  harassment  by  not  disclosing  it  and  by  paying  such  executives  2 millions of dollars in severance benefits when they were asked to resign in light of the  3 credible allegations of sexual harassment.   4 51. The direct involvement of Alphabet’s Board makes them interested in the  5 outcome of this litigation because they face a substantial likelihood of liability.  Demand  6 is thus futile.   7 52. Alphabet’s Code of Conduct specifically addresses the Company’s policy  8 regarding sexual harassment and discrimination:        9 Google  prohibits  discrimination,  harassment  and  bullying  in  any  form  —  verbal,  physical,  or  visual,  as  discussed  more  fully  in  our  Policy  10 Against Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation.  11 12 13 14 15 16 17 53.   In turn, Alphabet’s Anti‐Harassment and Retaliation states:  54. The  Director  Defendants  have  additional  responsibilities  due  to  their  Harassment is not tolerated.  Harassment includes, but is not limited  to:  verbal  language  that  reinforces  social  structures  of  domination  related  to  gender  identity  and  expression,  sexual  orientation,  disabilities,  neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, ethnicity, nationality, race,  age, religion, or other protected category; sexual imagery in public spaces;  deliberate  intimidation;  stalking;  following;  harassing  photography  or  recording;  sustained  disruption  of  talks  or  other  events;  offensive  verbal  language; inappropriate physical contact; and unwelcome sexual attention.   Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply  immediately.  18 respective memberships on various committees of the Board:  19 (a) Google’s  Leadership  Development  and  Compensation  Committee  20 is charged with:   21 22 23 24 25 26 [B]roadly  oversee[ing]  matters  relating  to  the  attraction,  motivation,  development  and  retention  of  all  Googlers.    In  undertaking  these  responsibilities,  the  Committee  shall  take  into  account  factors  it  deems appropriate from time to time, including Google’s business strategy,  the risks to Google and its business implied by its executive compensation  and  incentive  programs  and  awards,  and  the  results  of  any  shareholder  advisory votes with respect thereto.   27 28 23  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 (b) The LDCC is comprised of defendants Doerr and Shriram.  Doerr is  2 one  of  the  original  investors  in  Google  and  has  substantial  influence  at  Google  3 with Page and Brin.  This committee was designated with the broad power over  4 the  compensation,  retention  and  termination  of  all  Google  executive  officers.   5 Based  upon  defendant  Doerr’s  relationship  with  defendants  Brin,  Page,  and  6 Shriram, the LDCC had full knowledge of the unlawful acts and allowed them to  7 continue.   8 (c) Google’s  Audit  Committee’s  key  function  is  to  oversee  the  9 accounting  and  financial  reporting  process  as  well  as  the  adequacy  of  the  10 Company’s  internal  controls.    The  Audit  Committee  also  provides  oversight  11 regarding significant financial matters, including Google’s tax planning, treasury  12 policies,  currency  exposures,  dividends,  and  share  issuance  and  repurchases.   13 The Audit Committee is charged with supervising Google’s relationship with its  14 independent  auditors,  internal  controls,  financial  risk  oversight,  and  among  15 others,  the  ability  to  investigate  any  matter  brought  to  its  attention,  with  full  16 access to all Google books, records, facilities, and employees.    17 (d) The Audit Committee consists of defendants Mather (Chairperson),  18 Shriram, and Greene.  These directors either consciously or recklessly ignored the  19 financial  and  reputational  risk  to  Alphabet  from  allowing  senior  executives  to  20 engage in sexual harassment and then allow them to quietly resign, with Google  21 paying them millions in severance benefits.  Through their active involvement in  22 these unlawful practices, the Audit Committee members have exposed Google to  23 a significant amount of potential liability on top of the already realized attorney’s  24 fees and loss of goodwill.   25 (e) Google’s  Nominating  and  Corporate  Governance  Committee’s  26 (“NCGC”)  purpose  is  to  assist  the  Board  in  identifying  individuals  qualified  to  27 become members of the Board consistent with criteria set forth by the Board, to  28 24  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 oversee  the  evaluation  of  the  Board  and  management,  and  to  develop  and  2 update corporate governance principles.   (f) 3 During the relevant period, the NCGC was comprised of defendants  4 Hennessy  (Chairperson)  and  Tilghman.    These  members  were  also  tasked  with  5 the ability to recommend the termination of service of individual members of the  6 Board as appropriate, for cause or for other “proper reasons.”  These individuals  7 all have ties to other members of the Board.  If any member encouraged or voted  8 to  bring  suit,  these  NCGC  members  would  be  able  to  recommend  their  9 termination.  Since the termination is not reliant on “just cause,” the NCGC could  10 terminate anyone that attempted to go against the Board’s misconduct relating to  11 Google  executives’  sexual  harassment  or  try  to  hold  the  Board  accountable  for  12 such activities.    13 (g) Google’s  Executive  Committee’s  purpose  is  to  serve  as  an  14 administrative committee of the Board to act upon and facilitate the consideration  15 by senior management and the Board of certain high‐level business and strategic  16 matters.  Defendants Schmidt (Chairperson), Brin, and Page are on the Executive  17 Committee.    Brin  and  Page  were  directly  involved  in,  and  in  fact  authorized,  18 several  of  the  negotiations  with  departing  high‐level  executives  who  had  been  19 accused  of  sexual  harassment.    For  example,  upon  information  and  belief,  Brin  20 and  Page  approved  the  details  regarding  Rubin’s  departure  and  $90  million  21 severance package.    22 B. Fiduciary Duties of the Individual Defendants  23 55. By reason of their positions as officers and directors of the Company, each  24 of  the  Individual  Defendants  owed  and  continue  to  owe  Google  and  its  shareholders  25 fiduciary  obligations  of  trust,  loyalty,  good  faith,  and  due  care,  and  were  and  are  26 required to use their utmost ability to control and manage Google in a fair, just, honest,  27 and  equitable  manner.    The  Individual  Defendants  were  and  are  required  to  act  in  28 25  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 furtherance  of  the  best  interests  of  Google  and  not  in  furtherance  of  their  personal  2 interest or benefit.  3 56. To  discharge  their  duties,  the  officers  and  directors  of  Google  were  4 required to exercise reasonable and prudent supervision over the management, policies,  5 practices,  and  controls  of  the  affairs  of  the  Company.    By  virtue  of  such  duties,  the  6 officers and directors of Google were required to, among other things:  (a) 7 conduct  the  affairs  of  the  Company  in  an  efficient,  business‐like  8 manner  in  compliance  with  all  applicable  laws,  rules,  and  regulations  so  as  to  9 make  it  possible  to  provide  the  highest  quality  performance  of  its  business,  to  10 avoid  wasting  the  Company’s  assets,  and  to  maximize  the  value  of  the  11 Company’s stock; and  (b) 12 remain  informed  as  to  how  Google  conducted  its  operations,  and,  13 upon  receipt  of  notice  or  information  of  imprudent  or  unsound  conditions  or  14 practices,  make  reasonable  inquiry  in  connection  therewith,  and  take  steps  to  15 correct  such  conditions  or  practices  and  make  such  disclosures  as  necessary  to  16 comply with applicable laws.  17 C. Breaches of Fiduciary Duties by Individual Defendants  18 57. The conduct of the Individual Defendants complained of herein involves a  19 knowing and culpable violation of their obligations as officers and directors of Google,  20 the absence of good faith on their part, and a reckless disregard for their duties to the  21 Company.   22 58. The Individual Defendants breached their duty of loyalty and good faith  23 by  allowing  defendants  to  cause,  or  by  themselves causing,  the  Company  to  cover  up  24 Google executives’ sexual harassment, and caused Google to incur substantial damage.    25 59. The  Individual  Defendants,  because  of  their  positions  of  control  and  26 authority  as  officers  and/or  directors  of  Google,  were  able  to  and  did,  directly  or  27 indirectly, exercise control over the wrongful acts complained of herein.  The Individual  28 26  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Defendants  also  failed  to  prevent  the  other  Individual  Defendants  from  taking  such  2 improper actions.  As a result, and in addition to the damage the Company has already  3 incurred,  Google  has  expended,  and  will  continue  to  expend,  significant  sums  of  4 money.   5 D. Conspiracy, Aiding and Abetting, and Concerted Action  6 60. At all relevant times, Individual Defendants were agents of the remaining  7 Individual  Defendants,  and  in  doing  the  acts  alleged  herein,  were  acting  within  the  8 course  of  scope  of  such  agency.    The  Individual  Defendants  ratified  and/or  authorized  9 the  wrongful  acts  of  each  of  the  other  Individual  Defendants.    The  Individual  10 Defendants,  and  each  of  them,  are  individually  sued  as  participants  and  as  aiders  and  11 abettors in the improper acts, plans, schemes, and transactions that are the subject of this  12 Complaint.  13 61. In committing the wrongful acts alleged herein, the Individual Defendants  14 have pursued, or joined in the pursuit of, a common course of conduct, and have acted  15 in  concert  with  and  conspired  with  one  another  in  furtherance  of  the  improper  acts,  16 plans, schemes, and transactions that are the subject of this Complaint.  In addition to  17 the  wrongful  conduct  herein  alleged  as  giving  rise  to  primary  liability,  the  Individual  18 Defendants  further  aided  and  abetted  and/or  assisted  each  other  in  breaching  their  19 respective duties.  20 62. The Individual Defendants engaged in a  conspiracy,  common enterprise,  21 and/or common course of conduct, by failing to maintain adequate internal controls at  22 the Company and covering up Google executives’ sexual harassment.  23 63. During  all  times  relevant  hereto,  the  Individual  Defendants,  collectively  24 and individually, initiated a course of conduct that was designed to and did circumvent  25 the  internal  controls  at  the  Company  and  cause  the  Company  to  cover  up  Google  26 executives’  sexual  harassment.    In  furtherance  of  this  plan,  conspiracy,  and  course  of  27 28 27  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 conduct,  the  Individual  Defendants,  collectively  and  individually,  took  the  actions  set  2 forth herein.    64. 3 The purpose and effect of the Individual Defendants’ conspiracy, common  4 enterprise, and/or common course of conduct was, among other things, to disguise the  5 Individual Defendants’ violations of law, breaches of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate  6 assets,  and  unjust  enrichment;  and  to  conceal  adverse  information  concerning  the  7 Company’s operations.   65. 8 The  Individual  Defendants  accomplished  their  conspiracy,  common  9 enterprise,  and/or  common  course  of  conduct  by  intentionally  circumventing  internal  10 controls  at  the  Company  and  causing  the  Company  to  cover  up  Google  executives’  11 sexual harassment.  Because the actions described herein occurred under the authority  12 of the Board, each of the Individual Defendants was a direct, necessary, and substantial  13 participant  in  the  conspiracy,  common  enterprise,  and/or  common  course  of  conduct  14 complained of herein.  66. 15 Each  of  the  Individual  Defendants  aided  and  abetted  and  rendered  16 substantial  assistance  in  the  wrongs  complained  of  herein.    In  taking  such  actions  to  17 substantially  assist  the  commission  of  the  wrongdoing  complained  of  herein,  each  18 Individual Defendant acted with knowledge of the primary wrongdoing, substantially  19 assisted in the accomplishment of that wrongdoing, and was aware of his or her overall  20 contribution to and furtherance of the wrongdoing.  21 V. SUBSTANTIVE ALLEGATIONS  22 67. As alleged in detail herein, the Individual Defendants knew about sexual  23 harassment  by  senior  executives  of  Google,  including  Rubin,  failed  to  timely  disclose  24 the  harassment,  and  then  attempted  to  cover  up  the  harassment  when  news  reports  25 began to suggest that egregious sexual harassment and discrimination had occurred at  26 Google.    For  example,  in  Rubin’s  case,  Rubin  was  forced  out  by  defendants  Brin  and  27 Page after an internal investigation found the allegations of sexual harassment by Rubin  28 28  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 to  be  credible.    However,  rather  than  firing  Rubin  for  cause,  Brin  and  Page  —  the  co‐ 2 founders and controlling shareholders of the Company — gave Rubin a hero’s farewell  3 and approved a $90 million goodbye present to Rubin, and then also invested millions  4 in Rubin’s subsequent startup.  No mention was made about Rubin’s egregious sexual  5 harassment while at Google.   6 A. Defendants  Brin  and  Page,  the  Company’s  Co‐Founders,  as  Well  as  Other  Senior  Executives,  Set  the  Tone  at  the  Top  by  Dating  Employees  and Having Extra‐Marital Affairs  68. Google was founded in 1988 by defendants Page and Brin, who at the time  7 8 9 were  Stanford  graduate  students.    Defendant  Doerr  was  one  of  the  first  investors  in  10 Google.    Schmidt,  after  being  introduced  to  Page  and  Brin  by  Doerr,  joined  Google  as  11 CEO.    In  April  2011,  Page  became  Google’s  CEO,  and  Schmidt  became  Executive  12 Chairman  of  Google’s  board  of  directors.    In  connection  with  the  October  2015  13 reorganization,  Page  became  Alphabet’s  CEO,  and  Schmidt  became  the  Executive  14 Chairman  of  Alphabet’s  Board.    In  January  2018,  following  Schmidt’s  decision  to  step  15 down  from  his  role  as  the  Executive  Chairman,  defendant  Hennessy  was  appointed  to  16 serve as Alphabet’s Chairman of the Board.  17 69. At  all  relevant  times,  defendants  Page  and  Brin  have  dominated  and  18 controlled Google and have had and continue to have voting control of the Company.  19 70. In the early 2000s, defendant Page dated Marissa Mayer, who was then an  20 engineer at Google who later went on to become Yahoo! Inc.’s CEO.  21 71. Defendant Schmidt, who joined Google as  CEO in 2001, at which time he  22 was married, retained a mistress to work as a Google consultant.8    23 24 25                                                   8 See Daisuke Wakabayashi & Katie Benner, “How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the  26 ‘Father of Android,’” THE NEW YORK TIMES (Oct. 25, 2018).    27 28 29  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 72. In  2014,  during  the  time  the  Company  was  investigating  allegations  of  2 sexual harassment by defendant Rubin, defendant Brin had an extra‐marital affair with a  3 Google employee.9  4 5 6 7 8 9 10 73. As  one article noted:    “The  Board  and  top  executives  are  overwhelmingly  male,  many  of  whom  have  been  accused  of  questionable  behavior  with  women  –  reportedly  extramarital  affairs with underlings are common.  There have been countless reports that the  two founders, the former CEO, various directors, and even the chief counsel have  been romantically involved with women employees – many while married.  How  can any of these men in leadership condemn one of their own with a straight face?  It  is  understandable  why  Google  would  keep  silent  about  the  accusations.   Women are liabilities in these cases and have been treated that way.”    11 See  Kristi  Kaulkner,  “Three  Reasons  to  Believe  Google  Must  Pay  Alleged  Sexual  12 Harassers,” FORBES, Oct. 29, 2018.    13 74. Defendant  Drummond,  Alphabet’s  Senior  Vice  President  of  corporate  14 development  and  Chief  Legal  Officer,  who  joined  Google  in  1998  from  Wilson  Sonsini  15 Goodrich & Rosati’s corporate transactions group, had an extra‐marital relationship with  16 one  of  his  subordinates  at  Google,  Jennifer  Blakely,  a  contract  manager  in  the  legal  17 department  who  reported  to  one  of  Drummond’s  deputies.    Drummond  concealed  his  18 affair with Blakely from the Company until he and Blakely had a son in 2007, after which  19 Drummond disclosed his relationship with Blakely.  Blakely has alleged that she, rather  20 than  Drummond,  was  later  demoted  by  being  transferred  to  sales  in  2007  and  then  21 forced  out  of  the  Company  a  year  later.    In  late  2008,  Drummond  ended  this  extra‐ 22 marital relationship and they later fought a custody battle for their son, won by Blakely.   23 Drummond  has  been  paid  about  $190  million  in  stock  options  and  stock  awards  from  24 25 26                                                   9 Id.    27 28 30  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Google  since  2011  and  could  make  up  to  another  $200  million  on  other  options  and  2 equity awards according to Google filings.10    3 4 5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   Photo:  David C. Drummond, Alphabet’s chief legal officer, had an extramarital relationship with  17 Jennifer Blakely, a senior contract manager in the legal department who reported to one of his deputies.  18 75. According  to  Blakely,  the  disparate  way  in  which  she  and  Drummond  19 were  treated  “amplifies  the  message  that  for  a  select  few,  there  are  no  consequences.   20 Google felt like I was the liability.”    21 B. In  2014  the  Individual  Defendants  Investigated  Allegations  of  Sexual  Harassment  by  Defendant  Rubin,  and  Found  the  Allegations  To  Be  Credible,  But  Concealed  Rubin’s  Harassment  and  Instead  Gave  Him  a  Hero’s Farewell by Paying Him $90 Million in Severance  76. In  2014,  complaints  were  made  by  several  persons  concerning  sexual  22 23 24 25 26 harassment  by  defendant  Rubin.    Rubin  was  extremely  influential  and  “important”  at                                                    10 Id.    27 28 31  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Google  because  he  had  developed  the  Android  operating  system,  while  successfully  2 allowing  Google  to  make  a  critical  transition  from  desktop  to  mobile,  earning  Google  3 billions of dollars in revenues in the ensuing years.  4 77. Rubin sold Android to Google in July 2005 for $50 million.   5 78. After the sale, Rubin was named Senior Vice President of Mobile at Google.   6 In the following decade, at his peak, Rubin was paid $20 million per year in base salary.   7 79. Because of Rubin’s importance to Google’s financial results, he was treated  8 differently  than  other  employees  by  Google’s  Board  and  senior  management.    He  was  9 given more deference and was lavished with compensation.   10 80. In 2012 Google also loaned him $14 million to buy a beach house in Japan.  11 The  loan  was  offered  at  less  than  1%  interest,  far  below  market  rate.  The  loan  was  12 required to be repaid immediately if Rubin’s employment with Google was terminated  13 for any reason.  14 81.  In 2013 Rubin received a $40 million bonus and an additional $72 million  15 worth of stock to be paid over the next two years.   16 82. Rubin  allegedly  often  “berated  subordinates  as  stupid  or  incompetent,”  17 with  little  retaliation  from  Google  executives.  Google  only  took  action  when  “bondage  18 sex  videos”  were  found  on  Rubin’s  work  computer,  which  caused  his  bonus  to  be  19 docked that year.11  20 83. The  New  York  Times  has  reported  that  Rubin’s  ex‐wife  said  in  a  civil  21 lawsuit  that  he  had  multiple  “ownership  relationships”  with  other  women,  with  a  22 screenshot of an email reading, “Being owned is kinda like you are my property, and I  23 can  loan  you  to  other  people.”    Rubin  started  dating  a  subordinate  from  the  Android  24                                                   11 See Corbin Davenport, “Google Allegedly Paid $90 Million Severance to Andy  25 Rubin  After  Misconduct  Allegation,”  THE  ANDROID  POLICE,  Oct.  30,  2018,  available  at  https://www.androidpolice.com/2018/10/30/google‐allegedly‐paid‐90‐million‐severance‐ 26 andy‐rubin‐misconduct‐allegation/, last visited Jan. 5, 2019.   27 28 32  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 team in 2012, while he was still leading the division at Google.  According to the woman,  2 she was pressured into meeting him at a hotel in 2013, at which time he pressured her  3 into performing oral sex.  Thereafter, Rubin’s relationship with the women ended.12  She  4 reportedly  waited  until  the  following  year  to  file  a  complaint  with  Google.    The  5 company began an investigation, but a few weeks into the inquiry, Google’s Board gave  6 Rubin a $150 million stock grant.  7 C. The  Board  of  Directors’  and  Other  Defendants’  Active,  Direct,  and  Intentional Role in the Wrongdoing  84. Google’s  co‐founders  and  its  Board  were  active  in  the  events  related  to  8 9 Rubin.    During  2014,  Google’s  Audit  Committee  held  six  meetings  and  acted  by  10 unanimous  written/electronic  consent  nine  times.  During  2014,  Google’s  Audit  11 Committee was comprised of defendants Greene, Mulally, and Mather (Chair).  As part  12 of their duties on the Audit Committee in 2014, defendants Greene, Mulally, and Mather,  13 along  with  defendants  Brin  and  Page,  as  well  as  the  other  directors  at  the  time  (e.g.,  14 Doerr,  Hennessy,  Shriram  and  Tilghman)  received  information  and  reports  about  the  15 Company’s investigation regarding sexual harassment by Rubin.  Defendant Drummond  16 actively  participated  in  the  investigation  as  part  of  his  duties  in  Google’s  legal  17 department.    All  such  defendants  were  advised  that  the  allegations  were  found  to  be  18 credible.    19 85. In  2014,  Google’s  Leadership  Development  and  Compensation  20 Committee was comprised of Directors Paul Otellini (Intel’s former chief executive who  21 died  in  October  2017)  and  Defendant  Ram  Shriram  (of  the  venture  firm  Sherpalo  22 Ventures) and Defendant John Doerr (of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins).   23 86. Google’s Proxy Statement for 2014 (filed with the SEC on April 23, 2015 —  24 the year after the $150 million equity award to Rubin) states that:  25 26                                                   12 Id.    27 28 33  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT      The  purpose  of  our  Leadership  Development  and  Compensation  Committee  is  to  oversee  our  compensation  programs.  The  Leadership  Development and Compensation Committee’s responsibilities include:  1 2 3   •  Reviewing and approving our general compensation strategy.         •  Establishing  annual  and  long‐term  performance  goals  for  our  executive officers.           •  Conducting  and  reviewing  with  the  board  of  directors  an  annual  evaluation of the performance of our executive officers.       •  Evaluating  the  competitiveness  of  the  compensation  of  our  executive officers.          •  Reviewing and approving the selection of our peer companies.           •  Reviewing  and  approving  all  salaries,  bonuses,  equity  awards,  perquisites,  post‐service  arrangements,  and  other  compensation  and  benefit  plans  for  Google’s  Chief  Executive  Officer  and  all  other  executive  officers.           •  Reviewing and approving the terms of any offer letters, employment  agreements,  termination  agreements  or  arrangements,  change  in  control  agreements,  indemnification  agreements,  and  other  material  agreements  between us and our executive officers, including our Executive Chairman.          •  Acting  as  the  administering  committee  for  our  stock  and  bonus  plans and for any equity or cash compensation arrangements that may be  adopted by us from time to time.        4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16   •  Providing oversight for our overall compensation plans and benefit  programs,  monitoring  trends  in  executive  and  overall  compensation,  and  making  recommendations  to  the  board  of  directors  with  respect  to  improvements  to  such  plans  and  programs  or  the  adoption  of  new  plans  and programs.        17 18 19 20   •  Reviewing  and  approving  compensation  programs,  as  well  as  salaries, fees, bonuses, and equity awards for the Executive Chairman and  the non‐employee members of the board of directors.  21 22   23 24 25 26 27 •  Reviewing  plans  for  the  development,  retention,  and  succession  of  our executive officers.        •  Reviewing executive education and development programs.          •  Monitoring  total  equity  usage  for  compensation  and  establishing  appropriate equity dilution levels.               28 34  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 2 3 4   5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26    •  Reviewing  and  discussing  with  management  the  annual  Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) disclosure and the related  tabular  presentations  regarding  named  executive  officer  compensation  and,  based  on  this  review  and  discussions,  making  a  recommendation  to  include the CD&A disclosure and the tabular presentations in our annual  public filings.        •  Preparing  and  approving  the  annual  Leadership  Development  and  Compensation  Committee  Report  to  be  included  in  our  annual  public  filings.  87. Rubin  was  an  executive  officer  of  Google  and  thus  the  LDCC  was  responsible  for  all  matters  regarding  Rubin’s  compensation  and  termination.   Shockingly,  in  September  2014,  while  Google’s  internal  investigation  of  Rubin  was  underway, Rubin was awarded a $150 million stock grant to be paid over several years.  88. The $150 million stock grant to Rubin was approved by the Board’s LDCC,  which  was  composed  at  the  time  of  Paul  S.  Otellini  as  well  as  two  of  Google’s  earliest  investors,  defendant  Shriram  (of  the  venture  firm  Sherpalo  Ventures)  and  defendant  Doerr (of the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins).   89. Because,  as  demonstrated  above,  the  Board’s  LDCC  Charter  made  the  LDCC  responsible  for  all  matters  regarding  the  compensation  and  termination  of  executive  officers,  the  LDCC  was  involved  with  reviewing  complaints  about  sexual  harassment at Google involving executive officers such as Rubin, and also the payment  of  severance  to  executives  who  were  forced  out  due  to  credible  allegations  of  sexual  harassment or discrimination.  90. After finding the allegations against Rubin to be credible, defendants Brin,  Page,  Greene,  Mather,  Mulally,  Doerr,  Hennessy,  Shriram,  Drummond,  and  Tilghman  agreed to have Page ask for Rubin’s resignation, but did not cause Google to disclose the  reason for Rubin’s resignation.  They further approved a $90 million severance package  for  Rubin,  to  be  paid  over  the  next  four  years  in  installments  of  about  $2  million  per  month. Google also delayed repayment of Rubin’s $14 million loan.  27 28 35  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 91. Rubin stepped down from his position at Google on October 31, 2014, after  2 he  was  reportedly  given  a  “hero’s  farewell.”13  At  the  time,  Defendant  Page  heaped  3 effusive praise on Rubin on his way out the door, stating “I want to wish Andy all the  4 best with what’s next.  With Android he created something truly remarkable — with a  5 billion‐plus happy users.”14  6 92. Afterward, Google also invested in Playground Global, a venture firm Mr.  7 Rubin  started  six  months  after  leaving  the  company.    Playground  has  raised  $800  8 million.  He also founded Essential, a maker of Android smartphones.  9 93. During 2014, the year in which Rubin was investigated and given the $150  10 million stock grant and then the $90 million severance payment, the Board’s LDCC held  11 just five meetings, but acted by unanimous written/ electronic consent 28 times.  During  12 2014, Google’s full Board held eight meetings and acted by unanimous written/electronic  13 consent six times.    14 94. The documents produced by Google in response to Plaintiff’s shareholder  15 inspection  demand  demonstrate  the  active  and  direct  involvement  of  the  Board  in  the  16 matters regarding the Company’s investigation into Rubin’s sexual harassment and the  17 decision to pay Rubin a $90 million severance to keep the matter quiet.15  For example:  18 95.     19 .    20 21 96.     22 23                                                   13 See Daisuke Wakabayashi and Katie Benner, “How Google Protected Andy Rubin,  24 the ‘Father of Android,’” THE NEW YORK TIMES (Oct. 25, 2018).     Id.     REDACTED PARAGRAPHS ARE DUE TO CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT  26 GOVERNING DOCUMENTS PRODUCED BY GOOGLE.  25 14 15 27 28 36  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1   2   3   4    5 .  6 7 97.     8 9 .  10 11 98.   12   13   14    15   16   17   .    18 19 99.   20   21   22   23 24   25   26   27 28 37  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT      1 .”    2 3 100.   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   .    12 13 101.   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   .     24 25 102.   26   27   28 38  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1   2   3 4   5   .  6 7 103.   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   .   16 17 104.   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   .    25 26 105.       27 28 39  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1   2   .    3 4 106. The  rational  and  reasonable  inference  from  these  facts  is  that  Larry  Page  5 and Google’s directors wanted to make sure Rubin was paid handsomely to ensure his  6 silence,  since  they  apparently  feared  that  if  they  fired  Rubin  for  cause,  he  would  sue  7 Google  for  wrongful  termination  and  all  the  tawdry  details  of  sexual  harassment  by  8 senior executives at Google would become public.  As one writer noted after some of the  9 facts  became  public  later  in  2018:    “How  can  any  of  these  men  in  leadership  condemn  10 one of their own with a straight face? It is understandable why Google would keep silent  11 about  the  accusations.    Women  are  liabilities  in  these  cases  and  have  been  treated  that  12 way.”  See Kristi Kaulkner, “Three Reasons to Believe Google Must Pay Alleged Sexual  13 Harassers,” FORBES, Oct. 29, 2018.  14 107. In 2014, Google’s Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer, Nikesh  15 Arora, also resigned.  As part of its Form 10‐Q filed with the SEC on October 23, 2014,  16 Google  attached an  Exhibit 10.3 to  the 10‐Q, which  was  a copy of a separate letter and  17 settlement  agreement  and  release  with  Mr.  Arora.      Google  paid  Arora  $8  million  as  a  18 severance,  and  the  accompanying  “Separation  Agreement  and  Release”  provided  19 Google  with  a  very  broad  release  of  any  and  all  claims,  including  claims  for  wrongful  20 termination, and contained a strict non‐disclosure agreement.  The agreement was dated  21 September 8, 2014 and was signed by Arora and by Defendant Bock for Google.  The $8  22 million  payment  by  Google  was  unusual  because,  pursuant  to  an  original  award  of  23 compensation to Arora from the Board’s LDCC in 2012 and reported via a SEC filing on  24 April  26,  2012,  Arora  would  have  had  forfeited  and  had  to  re‐pay  the  $8  million  in  25 compensation  when  he  left  Google  in  2014.    Instead  of  forcing  him  to  re‐pay  the  $8  26 million,  Google’s  Board  approved  the  Separation  Agreement  and  Release  which  27 explicitly  stated  that  “Bonus  Repayment  Forgiveness.  Conditioned  on  your  accepting  28 40  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 this Agreement, the Company will forgive repayment of the $8,000,000 bonus that  was  2 approved  by  the  Leadership  Development  and  Compensation  Committee  of  the  3 Company’s Board of Directors, and reported on a Form 8‐K with the U.S. Securities and  4 Exchange Commission, on April 26, 2012 (the “Bonus”).”  5 108. At the time, Google did not provide any reason for the $8 million payment  6 to  Arora.    The  whole  purpose  of  the  restrictions  contained  in  the  2012  compensation  7 award  to  Arora  was  to  try  to  get  Arora  to  work  at  Google  longer  by  making  him  8 contractually  obligated  to  re‐pay  significant  portions  of  his  compensation  if  he  left  9 Google earlier than anticipated or hoped.  Arora stated at the time that he was leaving  10 Google to work at Softbank.  Going to work for Softbank did not provide any benefit to  11 Google,  and  thus  there  was  no  discernible  reason  for  Google  to  waive  Arora’s  12 contractual obligation to pay back the $8 million, but it did so.  13 109.   Interestingly,  the  Transition  Agreement  attached  with  Arora  as  Exhibit  14 10.02  to  the    October  23,  2014  Form  10‐Q  contained  a  provision  stating  that  “You  may  15 characterize your departure from the Company as voluntary and communicate the same  16 to your team and peers, however, any written communications related to your departure  17 must be pre‐approved by Google’s Communications representative.”    18 110.  During  2015,  the  Board’s  LDCC  held  five  meetings  and  acted  by  19 unanimous written/ electronic consent 37 times.  20 111.   21   22     23 24   25   26   .    27 28 41  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 112.   2   3      4     5 .   6 7 113. During  2016,  Doerr,  defendant  Shriram  and  nonparty  Paul  S.  Otellini,  as  8 members  of  the  LDCC,  held  five  meetings  and  acted  by  unanimous  written/electronic  9 consent 13 times.  10 114. During  2017,  the  LDCC  held  five  meetings  and  acted  by  unanimous  11 written/ electronic consent 13 times.  12 115. On  October  2,  2017,  nonparty  Paul  S.  Otellini  passed  away  and  ceased  to  13 serve  as  a  Board  member  and  chair  of  the  LDCC.    Defendant  Doerr  was  appointed  to  14 serve  as  chair  of  the  LDCC.    Since  then,  the  LDCC  has  consisted  of  two  members  —  15 defendants Doerr and Shriram.  16 116. In November 2017, after the technology news site The Information reported  17 that Google had investigated Rubin for an inappropriate relationship, Rubin took a leave  18 of  absence  from  Essential.    He  has  since  returned  to  run  it  and  is  busy  with  speaking  19 engagements and investments.  20 117.  Rubin  was  allegedly  able  to  negotiate  the  $90  million  severance  package  21 due  to  the  $150  million  stock  grant  he  had  been  given  by  Google’s  Board  after  the  22 internal  investigation  was  commenced.  According  to  his  ex‐wife’s  divorce  filings,  23 Rubin’s net worth increased from around $10 million in 2008 to $350 million as of 2018.  24 Rubin was forced to list his $34.5 million mansion in Woodside, California for sale as a  25 result of the divorce proceedings.    26 118. At  the  time  of  Rubin’s  “resignation”  in  2014,  defendants  Page,  Brin,  and  27 Schmidt were controlling shareholders, owning over 92.6% of Google’s Class B common  28 42  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 stock and exerting 59.8% of Alphabet’s voting power, as reflected in the following chart  2 based on the data provided in Alphabet’s April 23, 2015 Proxy Statement:    3 Name  Class B Shares and Percentage Owned  Voting Control 27.4% 22,246,906 42.4%  4 Larry Page  26.9% Sergey Brin  21,879,314 41.7%  5 5.5% Eric Schmidt  4,464,597 8.5%  6 L. John Doerr  1.4% 1,117,447 2.1%  Total  61.2% 44,656,305 94.8%  7 8 D. Alphabet’s Current Board Failed to Come Clean in Late 2017, Even After  a News Report Surfaced That Suggested Impropriety by Rubin  9 119. On  November  29,  2017,  a  news  report  appeared  on  CNBC  stating  that  10 Rubin had taken a leave of absence at his current employer, Essential.  The report noted  11 that “Essential founder and CEO Andy Rubin has taken a leave of absence from his new  12 company  for  “personal  reasons”  following  a  report  on  the  circumstances  of  his  2014  13 departure from Google.  According to The Information, Rubin left Google shortly after an  14 investigation  found  that  he  had  maintained  an  “inappropriate  relationship”  with  a  15 woman who worked under him and filed a complaint to HR.”  See Sam Byford, “Andy  16 Rubin  takes  leave  from  Essential  as  probe  into  ‘inappropriate’  Google  relationship  goes  public:  17 Report,” CNBC (Nov. 29, 2017).    18 19 20 21 22 23 24 120.   The November 29, 2017 news article also stated:    121. Despite  this  article,  however,  the  Alphabet  Board  at  the  time  (which  was  The  woman  who  filed  the  complaint  reportedly  worked  in  the  Android  division  run  by  Rubin,  which  would  make  any  personal  relationship between the two violate Google policy; the company requires  employees to disclose such relationships so that one of them can be moved  to another division.  Rubin left the Android department in March 2013 to  lead  Google’s  efforts  in  robotics,  but  the  HR  investigation  is  said  to  have  taken  place  in  2014.    That  investigation,  according  to  The  Information,  concluded  that  “Rubin’s  behavior  was  improper  and  showed  bad  judgement.”  25 identical  to  the  current  Board  —  defendants  Page,  Brin,  Schmidt,  Doerr,  Ferguson,  26 Mulally, Pichai, Hennessy, Mather, Shriram, and Greene) failed to make any disclosure  27 of the true reasons for Rubin’s departure from Google, including the fact that the Board  28 43  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 had  investigated  Rubin  and  found  the  allegations  of  sexual  harassment  to  be  credible,  2 leading  the  Board  to  ask  for  Rubin’s  resignation.    In  failing  again  in  December  2017  to  3 disclose  the  true  facts  regarding  Rubin’s  departure,  even  after  the  reports  made  in  the  4 November 29, 2017 CNBC article, the Board acted in bad faith and breached its duty of  5 loyalty to Alphabet.    6 122. During  Autumn  2018,  the  N.Y.  Times  broke  a  major  story  on  the  Board’s  7 cover‐up of Rubin’s sexual harassment, which in turn resulted in dozens and dozens of  8 news  articles  about  the  subject  around  the  world,  demonstrating  the  materiality  of  the  9 issue.  A sampling of those news articles is attached hereto as Exhibit A.  10 E. Google  Paid  Another  Executive,  Amit  Singhal,  Millions  After  He  Sexually Harassed Google Employees  123. In  another  harassment  case,  Google  paid  Amit  Singhal,  a  senior  vice  11 12 president who headed search, millions of dollars on the way out.  13 124. In 2015, an employee said Mr. Singhal groped her at a boozy off‐site event  14 attended  by  dozens  of  colleagues,  said  three  people  who  were  briefed  on  the  incident.  15 Google  investigated  and  found  that  Mr.  Singhal  was  inebriated  and  there  were  no  16 witnesses, they said.  17 125. Google  found  the  female  employee’s  claim  credible.    But  Google  did  not  18 fire Mr. Singhal and instead accepted his resignation and negotiated an exit package that  19 paid him millions and prevented him from working for a competitor.16  20 126. Googleʹs  practice  of  disregarding,  covering  up,  and  rewarding  the  21 malfeasance of its senior executives continued with the handling of Singhal’s separation  22 agreement.    The  documents  produced  by  Google  in  response  to  Plaintiff’s  shareholder  23 24 25                                                   16 See Daisuke Wakabayashi & Katie Benner, “How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the  26 ‘Father of Android,’” THE NEW YORK TIMES (Oct. 25, 2018).    27 28 44  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 inspection demand      2   3   4   5 6   7     8     9 10 127.     11 12   13   14   15 .  16 17 128.   18   19   .    20 21 129.   :  22 23 24 25 26                                                   17 See  .  27 28 45  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1   2   .  3 130. 4     5 .  6 131. 7     8   9 .  10 132. 11 Because  Google’s  Board  concealed  the  reasons  for  Singhal’s  departure,  he  12 found another lucrative job.  Less than a year later, he became head of engineering at the  13 ride‐hailing company Uber.  Weeks later, the technology news website Recode reported  14 that  Mr.  Singhal  had  left  Google  after  a  misconduct  accusation.    Uber  dismissed  Mr.  15 Singhal for not disclosing the inquiry at Google.18  16 F. Google Asked Other Victims of Sexual Harassment to “Stay Quiet” After  Their Allegations of Harassment Were Found to Be Credible  133. In  2013,  Richard  DeVaul,  a  director  at  Google  X,  the  company’s  research  17 18 and development arm, interviewed Star Simpson, a hardware engineer.  During the job  19 interview, she said he told her that he and his wife were “polyamorous,” a word often  20 used to describe an open marriage.  She said he invited her to Burning Man, an annual  21 festival in the Nevada desert, the following week.  22 ///  23 ///  24 ///  25 26                                                   18 Id.    27 28 46  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11     12 Photo:  Richard DeVaul of X apologized for an “error of judgment” with Star Simpson, who had  13 interviewed for a job with him.  Credit:  Jason Henry for The New York Times  14 134. Ms.  Simpson  went  with  her  mother  and  said  she  thought  it  was  an  15 opportunity  to  talk  to  Mr.  DeVaul  about  the  job.  She  said  she  brought  conservative  16 clothes suitable for a professional meeting.  17 135. At Mr. DeVaul’s encampment, Ms. Simpson said, he asked her to remove  18 her  shirt  and  offered  a  back  rub.  She  said  she  refused.  When  he  insisted,  she  said  she  19 relented to a neck rub.  20 136. “I  didn’t  have  enough  spine  or  backbone  to  shut  that  down  as  a  24‐year‐ 21 old,” said Ms. Simpson, now 30.  22 137. A  few  weeks  later,  Google  told  her  she  did  not  get  the  job,  without  23 explaining why.  24 138. Ms.  Simpson  waited  two  years  to  report  the  episode  to  Google  after  she  25 said she wrestled with talking about it.  A human resources official later told her that her  26 account was “more likely than not” true and that “appropriate action” was taken.  27 28 47  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 139. Significantly,  Simpson  said  the  Google  official  asked  her  to  stay  quiet  2 about  what  had  happened,  which  she  did  —  until  Mr.  DeVaul’s  public  profile  began  3 rising in articles in The New York Times and The Atlantic.  4 140. In a statement, Mr. DeVaul apologized for an “error of judgment.”   5 G. The  Director  Defendants  Caused  Google  to  File  False  Financial  Statements With the SEC  141. On  February  9,  2015,  Director  Defendants  Page,  Brin,  Schmidt,  Hennessy,  6 7 Doerr, Greene, Mather, Mulally, Shriram, and Tilghman reviewed, approved, and signed  8 Google’s  Annual  Report  to  shareholders  on  Form  10‐K  for  its  fiscal  year  ending  9 December 31, 2014 (the “2014 10‐K”).  Google’s fiscal year 2014 covered the time period  10 when Defendant Rubin was investigated for sexual harassment, when those allegations  11 were found to be credible, and when Rubin nonetheless was allowed to “resign” with a  12 $90 million exit package.  13 142. 22 The 2014 10‐K, at p. 5, represented that:    Culture and Employees         We  take  great  pride  in  our  culture.  We  embrace  collaboration  and  creativity,  and  encourage  the  iteration  of  ideas  to  address  complex  technical  challenges.  Transparency  and  open  dialogue  are  central  to  how  we work, and we like to ensure that company news reaches our employees  first through internal channels.    Despite our rapid growth, we still cherish our roots as a startup and  wherever possible empower employees to act on great ideas regardless of  their  role  or  function  within  the  company.  We  strive  to  hire  great  employees,  with backgrounds and  perspectives as  diverse as those of our  global  users.  We  work  to  provide  an  environment  where  these  talented  people  can  have  fulfilling  careers  addressing  some  of  the  biggest  challenges in technology and society.    23 143. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 This  statement  was  materially  false  and  misleading  because  the  Director  24 Defendants had covered up the true reason for Rubin’s departure from Google.  Rather  25 than  communicating  the  truth  to  the  Company’s  employees  through  internal  channels,  26 the  Directors  and  senior  officers  of  Google  concealed  the  truth  from  employees,  thus  27 making  the  statements  in  the  Form  10‐K  inaccurate  and  misleading.    The  cover‐up  28 48  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 continued until the fall of 2018, when some of the truthful information was disseminated  2 through outside major news outlets.  3 144. Other  representations  in  the  2014  10‐K  admitted  the  outsize  importance  4 and  influence  of  Defendants  Page,  Brin,  Schmidt,  and  other  senior  officers  at  Google,  5 while  at  the  same  time  concealing  the  lengths  to  which  the  Company  went  to  protect  6 senior executives from harassment charges:    7 If  we  were  to  lose  the  services  of  Larry,  Sergey,  Eric,  or  other  key  personnel, we may not be able to execute our business strategy.  8   Our future success depends in a large part upon the continued service  9 of key members of our senior management team. In particular, Larry Page  and  Sergey  Brin are critical to  the  overall  management of  Google and the  10 development of  our technology. Along with our Executive Chairman Eric  E.  Schmidt,  they  also  play  a  key  role  in  maintaining  our  culture  and  11 setting  our  strategic  direction.  All  of  our  executive  officers  and  key  employees are at‐will employees, and we do not maintain any key‐person  12 life insurance policies. The loss of key personnel could seriously harm our  business.  13   See 2014 10‐K, at p. 15.    14 145. This statement in the 2014 Annual Report was misleading and a half‐truth  15 because the Director Defendants who signed the Form 10‐K knew, but did not disclose,  16 that the Company viewed these senior executives (which included not only Brin, Page,  17 and  Schmidt,  but  also  Rubin  and  Singhal)  to  be  so  crucial  to  Google’s  money‐making  18 ability  (e.g.,  “PROFITS”)  that  the  Company  was  protecting  them  against  credible  19 allegations  of  sexual  harassment  and  not  disclosing  the  Company’s  own  findings  to  20 employees and shareholders.   As noted above, Defendants Page, Brin, Schmidt, and the  21 other  Director  Defendants  abused  their  power  and  positions  of  fiduciary  responsibility  22 at  Google  to  perpetuate  a  culture  of  harassment  and  to  lead  Google  in  a  strategic  23 direction  that  allowed  subsequent  cover  ups  and  payouts  for  the  misdeeds  of  male  24 executives.  25 146. Key  elements  of  the  financial  disclosures  contained  within  the  2014  10‐K  26 also  are  false  and  misleading  due  to  omission  of  an  explanation  of  the  true  nature  of  27 Defendant Rubin’s departure from Google and the consequent substantial liability faced  28 49  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 by Google both in terms of possible financial payout and harm to reputation.  The 2014  2 10‐K stated:  3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Loss Contingencies  We are regularly subject to claims, suits, government investigations,  and  other  proceedings  involving  competition  and  antitrust,  intellectual  property,  privacy,  indirect  taxes,  labor  and  employment,  commercial  disputes,  content  generated  by  our  users,  goods  and  services  offered  by  advertisers or publishers using our platforms, and other matters. Certain of  these  matters  include  speculative  claims  for  substantial  or  indeterminate  amounts of damages. We record a liability when we believe that it is both  probable that a loss has been incurred, and the amount can be reasonably  estimated.  If  we  determine  that a  loss  is  possible  and  a  range  of  the  loss  can be reasonably estimated, we disclose the range of the possible loss in  the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.  See 2014 10-K, p. 36-7. 147. Despite their knowledge of the true nature of Defendant Rubin’s departure  from  Google  and  the  Company’s  possible  liability  for  the  credible  claims  of  sexual  harassment,  the  Defendant  Directors  failed  to  include  this  information  in  its  loss  contingencies disclosures.  148. Similarly,  when  setting  forth  other  legal  matters,  the  2014  10‐K  was  noticeably silent on Defendant Rubin’s departure and its possible legal consequences:    Other  We  are  also  regularly  subject  to  claims,  suits,  government  investigations,  and  other  proceedings  involving  competition  (such  as  the  pending  investigation  by  the  EC  described  above),  intellectual  property,  privacy,  tax,  labor  and  employment,  commercial  disputes,  content  generated  by  our  users,  goods  and  services  offered  by  advertisers  or  publishers using our platforms, personal injury, consumer protection, and  other  matters.  Such  claims,  suits,  government  investigations,  and  other  proceedings  could  result  in  fines,  civil  or  criminal  penalties,  or  other  adverse consequences.    Certain of our outstanding legal matters include speculative claims for  substantial  or  indeterminate  amounts  of  damages.  We  record  a  liability  when we believe that it is probable that a loss has been incurred and the  amount  can  be  reasonably  estimated.  If  we  determine  that  a  loss  is  possible and a range of the loss can be reasonably estimated, we disclose  the  range  of  the  possible  loss.  We  evaluate,  on  a  monthly  basis,  developments in our legal matters that could affect the amount of liability  that  has  been  previously  accrued,  and  the  matters  and  related  ranges  of  possible  losses  disclosed,  and  make  adjustments  as  appropriate.  Significant  judgment  is  required  to  determine  both  likelihood  of  there  being and the estimated amount of a loss related to such matters.    50  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16   With  respect  to  our  outstanding  legal  matters,  based  on  our  current  knowledge,  we  believe  that  the  amount  or  range  of  reasonably  possible  loss  will  not,  either  individually  or  in  the  aggregate,  have  a  material  adverse  effect  on  our  business,  consolidated  financial  position,  results  of  operations,  or  cash  flows.  However,  the  outcome  of  such  legal  matters  is  inherently unpredictable and subject to significant uncertainties.  See 2014 10-K, p. 66. 149. Instead  of  revealing  that  the  credible  claims  of  sexual  harassment  against  Rubin led to his departure and exposed Google to significant financial liability and loss  to  reputation,  thereby  having  a  material  adverse  effect  on  Google’s  business,  the  Defendant Directors signed the  false and misleading  Annual Report  that concealed  the  true facts.    H. The Board’s Conduct Has Caused Substantial Damage to the Company  150. The  Individual  Defendants’  misconduct  has  caused  severe  financial  and  reputational damage to Alphabet and Google.    151.   As one current Google employee succinctly put it:  When  Google  covers  up  harassment  and  passes  the  trash,  it  contributes  to  an  environment  where  people  don’t  feel  safe  reporting  misconduct.    They  suspect  that  nothing  will  happen  or,  worse,  that  the  men will be paid and the women will be pushed aside.  17 See  Daisuke  Wakabayashi  &  Katie  Benner,  “How  Google  Protected  Andy  Rubin,  the  18 ‘Father  of  Android,’”  THE  NEW  YORK  TIMES  (Oct.  25,  2018)  (quoting  Liz  Fong‐Jones,  a  19 Google engineer).    20 152. On  November  1,  2018,  furious  over  the  Board’s  cover‐up  of  sexual  21 harassment  by  senior  executives  at  Google,  Google  employees  staged  a  synchronized  22 walkout at Google offices across the world.    23 153. In New York, more than 3,000 gathered in a city park and carried signs that  24 said, “O.K.  Google, really?” In  Dublin, dozens filled a  sidewalk. And  in Silicon Valley,  25 26 27 28 51  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 thousands  poured  out  of  office  buildings  into  a  common  outdoor  area  and  chanted:  2 “Stand up! Fight back!”19  154. 3 Similar  scenes  played  out  in  other  cities  around  the  world  —  from  4 Singapore  and  Hyderabad,  India,  to  Berlin,  Zurich,  London,  Chicago  and  Seattle  —  as  5 Google employees held  a wave of walkouts on Thursday, November 1, 2018  to protest  6 the internet company’s handling of sexual harassment.   7     8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20   21   22   23 24                                                   19  See  Daisuke  Wakabayashi,  Erin  Griffith,  Amie  Tsang  &  Kate  Conger,  “Google  Walkout:  Employees  Stage  Protest  Over  Handling  of  Sexual  Harassment,”  THE  NEW  YORK  26 TIMES (Nov. 1, 2018).    25 27 28 52  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24     [Caption: On November 1, 2018, Google employees staged a walkout in New York City,  San  Francisco,  and  multiple  other  locations  throughout  the  world,  in  a  protest  against  what they said is the tech company’s mishandling of sexual‐misconduct allegations.  See  Douglas MacMillan et al., “Google Employees Stage Global Walkout Over Treatment of Sexual  Harassment,”  THE  WALL  STREET  JOURNAL  (Nov.  1,  2018);  see  also  Douglas  MacMillan,  “Google  to  End  Forced  Arbitration  for  Sexual‐Harassment  Claims,”  THE  WALL  STREET  JOURNAL (Nov. 8, 2018).]  155. The  backlash  was  prompted  by  an  article  in  The  New  York  Times  the  previous week that revealed that Google had paid millions of dollars in exit packages to  male executives accused of misconduct, while staying silent about the transgressions.  156. “I  am  here  because  what  you  read  in  The  New  York  Times  are  a  small  sampling  of  the  thousands  of  stories  we  all  have,”  Meredith  Whittaker,  a  Google  employee who helped organize the walkout, said to a crowd of colleagues in New York.  25 26 27 28 53  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 After  she  called  out  the  company’s  “pattern  of  unethical  and  thoughtless  decision‐ 2 making,” protesters chanted, “Time’s up.”20  3 157. The  walkouts  capped  a  turbulent  week  for  Google.    After  The  New  York  4 Times article was published, the Company revealed that it had fired 48 people for sexual  5 harassment  over  the  last  two  years  and  that  none  had  received  an  exit  package.   6 Defendant  Pichai  (Google’s  CEO)  and  defendant  Page  (Google’s  co‐founder  and  7 Alphabet’s  CEO)  apologized.  And  one  of  the  executives  whom  Alphabet  continued  8 employing after he was accused of harassment resigned, with no exit package.  9 158. But  employees’  discontent  continued  to  simmer.  Many  said  Google  had  10 treated  female  workers  inequitably  over  time.    Others  were  outraged  that  Google  had  11 paid Rubin, the creator of the Android mobile software, a $90 million exit package even  12 after the company concluded that a harassment claim against him was credible.  13 159. That led some Google employees to call for a walkout. The organizers also  14 produced  a  list  of  demands  for  changing  how  Google  handles  sexual  harassment,  15 including  ending  its  use  of  private  arbitration  in  such  cases.  They  also  asked  for  the  16 publication  of  a  transparency  report  on  instances  of  sexual  harassment,  further  17 disclosures  of  salaries  and  compensation,  an  employee  representative  on  the  company  18 board, and a chief diversity officer who could speak directly to the board.  19 160. Defendant Pichai, who spoke at The New York Times’s DealBook conference  20 on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018, said: “It’s been a difficult time.  There is anger and frustration  21 within the company.  We all feel it.  I feel it, too.”  22 161. Defendant Pichai conceded that Google had not lived up to the high bar it  23 set  for  itself.  It  has  since  “evolved  as  a  company.”    And  he  expressed  support  for  the  24 25 26                                                   20 Id.    27 28 54  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 employees who participated in the walkout.  He promised that Google would take steps  2 to address the issues they raised.  162. 3 The  walkouts,  which  started  in  Asia  and  spread  across  continents,  were  4 planned  for  around  11  a.m.  in  local  time  zones.  Many  employees  —  both  men  and  5 women  —  posted  photos  on  social  media  to  chronicle  their  experiences.  The  images  6 showed  dozens  of  people  gathered  in  different  locations,  chanting  slogans  and  7 displaying signs.  One read:     8 What do I do at Google? I work hard every day so the company can  afford $90,000,000 payouts to execs who sexually harass my co‐workers.  9   10 VI. UNJUST COMPENSATION AWARDED TO SOME OF THE DEFENDANTS  11 163. Some  of  the  Defendants  received  unjust  compensation  and/or  12 compensation and payments that constituted corporate waste.  Much of the information  13 about  the  payments  is  not  publicly  available,  and  has  been  fraudulently  concealed  by  14 Defendants.  As a result, Plaintiff requires discovery in order to properly allege the full  15 extent and details of the Defendants’ unjust enrichment.    16 164. However,  at  a  minimum,  Defendants  Page,  Rubin,  Pichai,  Drummond,  17 Doerr,  and  Shriram  received  compensation  during  the  relevant  time  period  which  was  18 unjust in light of their direct participation in the wrongful conduct alleged herein, which  19 constituted  bad  faith  and  disloyal  conduct.    The  defendants’  receipt  of  such  20 compensation while they were knowingly or recklessly breaching their fiduciary duties  21 to  the  Company  constituted  unjust  enrichment  and/or  corporate  waste  that  should  be  22 recouped by Alphabet.  23 165. As detailed herein, Defendant Rubin received a $150 million stock grant in  24 2014  after  the  internal  investigation  into  his  sexual  harassment  had  commenced.    He  25 thereafter was given a $90 million severance payment from Google in 2014, even though  26 none of the $150 million in stock grants had vested as of the date of Rubin’s departure.      27 This compensation was unjust in light of Rubin’s wrongful conduct related to the sexual  28 55  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 harassment allegations against Rubin, which the Company’s internal investigation found  2 to be credible.    166. 3 For 2015 through 2017,  Defendants Doerr and Shriram, as the members of  4 the  Board’s  Leadership,  Development  and  Compensation  Committee,  approved  the  5 award of the following compensation to certain of the defendants:    6       7 8 9 10 Name and  Principal  Position  Year  Eric E.  Schmidt  12 13 16 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 –   –   –   –   2,798,606   Total ($) 677,986(7) 4,726,592 –   –  –  2,430,685   629,106   4,309,791 Former    2015   1,254,808   6,000,000   Executive  Chairman Alphabet  –   –  –  –   783,370   8,038,178 683,557(8) 1,333,557     2017  650,000   Chief      Executive  2016  Officer,  650,000 Google  652,500     2015     –   –   –   –   –   –   198,695,790   –  –  –   372,410   199,718,200 –   –  –  –   150,460   100,632,102 99,829,142     167. 18 19     2017  1,250,000 Bonus ($)(2)   Non‐Qualified Non‐Equity Deferred Stock Option Incentive Plan Compensation All Other Awards Awards Compensation Earnings Compensation ($)(3)  ($)  ($)  ($)(4)   ($)(5) –   Sundar  Pichai  15 17   Salary ($)(1)   Technical        Advisor,  2016  1,250,000 11 14    Moreover,  egregiously,  Defendant  Schmidt  received  a  $100  million  stock  award in 2014, the year in which he signed off on the $90 million severance payment to  Rubin notwithstanding the Company’s finding that the allegations of sexual harassment  by  Rubin  were  credible.    Pichai  received  a  similar  $99.8  million  award  the  following  year, in 2015.  Schmidt also received a $6 million bonus in 2014.  The compensation of  Pichai  and  Schmidt  in  2014  was  disclosed  by  the  Company  in  the  2015  Proxy  in  the  following table:  ///  ///  ///  ///  56  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8       Name and  Principal  Position  11 12 13 16 168. 21 22            For Defendant Pichai, the $99.8 million stock award was approved by the  time by Non‐Defendant Otellini and Defendant Shriram) on October 22, 2014, just nine  days before Rubin stepped down from his position at Google on October 31, 2014, after  he was reportedly given a “hero’s farewell.”21    169. The following table provides information on the current holdings of stock  options and unvested GSUs by certain of the defendants at December 31, 2017.               Option Awards    Stock Awards  Number of Shares Market Value of or Units of Stock Shares or Units of Number of Securities Option Option That Have Not Stock That Have Underlying Exercise Vested Not Vested(3) Unexercised Options Price(2) Expiration (1) Grant Date    ($)  Date (#)  ($) (#) Exercisable      18 20 —  —  —      —              783,370 (6)  8,038,178 996,934    108,690,772 708,196    19,323,380         150,460 (7) 100,632,102                 Leadership  Development  and  Compensation  Committee  (which  was  comprised  at  the  17 19 —  —  —      —            —  —  —    —      Total ($)   14 15                    Non‐Qualified              Deferred                Non‐Equity            Stock  Option Incentive Plan  Compensation  All Other             Earnings Compensation    Salary   Bonus  Awards Awards Compensation  ($)(2)  ($)(3)  ($)(1)   ($)  ($)  ($)  ($)(4)               Eric E. Schmidt    2015  1,254,808  6,000,000  —  Executive    2014  1,250,000  6,000,000 100,443,838  Chairman,    2013  1,250,000  6,000,000  11,365,184      Alphabet                     Sundar Pichai    2015   652,500  —  99,829,142      Chief                       Executive Officer                                 9 10                               Year  Name  Eric E. Schmidt    2/5/2014(4)  –  –  – 27,457  28,923,204      2/5/2014(4)  –  –  – 27,457  28,731,005      2/2/2011   181,840  306.61  2/2/2021 –  –      2/2/2011   181,840  305.39  2/2/2021 –  – Sundar Pichai    2/3/2016   –  –  – 136,664  143,005,210      8/6/2014(6)  –  –  – 353,939  370,361,770      5/1/2013(7)  –  –  – 20,213  21,292,374 (5) 23 24 25                                                   21  The  Company’s  Proxy  states  that  the  stock  award  was  formally  granted  on  26 January 7, 2015 after having been approved by the Committee on Oct. 22, 2014.    27 28 57  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1      5/1/2013(7)  –  –  – 20,213  21,150,883      4/4/2012   8,646  318.21  4/4/2022 –  – 2      4/4/2012   8,646  316.94  4/4/2022 –  – 3      8/4/2010   1,459  253.67  8/4/2020 –  –      8/4/2010   1,459  252.65  8/4/2020 –  –      7/29/2009   2,436  218.56  7/29/2019 –  –      7/29/2009   2,436  217.68  7/29/2019 –  – 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 David C. Drummond   8/6/2014(6)          –  – 70,788  74,072,563 4/4/2012   44,955  318.21  4/4/2022 –  –   4/4/2012   44,955  316.94  4/4/2022 –  –      4/4/2012   8,646  318.21  4/4/2022 –  –      4/4/2012   8,646  316.94  4/4/2022 –  –      4/6/2011   29,288  287.66  4/6/2021 –  –      4/6/2011   29,288  286.52  4/6/2021 –  –      12/1/2010   9,998  282.74  12/1/2020 –  –      12/1/2010   9,998  281.61  12/1/2020 –  –      3/4/2009   34,138  159.78  3/4/2019 –  –      3/4/2009   34,138  159.14  3/4/2019 –  – 13 14 15 16 170. 2017.           Name           Aggregate Executive Aggregate Withdrawals/ Contributions Earnings Distributions Aggregate Balance at in 2017(2) December 31, 2017(3)  in 2017 in 2017(1) ($) ($) ($)  ($)   Eric E. Schmidt    –  3,625,563   Sundar Pichai    –  18 20 The  following  table  provides  information  about  contributions,  earnings,  and  balances  under  Google’s  nonqualified  deferred  compensation  plan  in  fiscal  year  17 19 –      3,618,179   29,643,886    –   4,425,884    52,779   David C. Drummond  21   –  22   23 171. –   –   –    The  Defendants’  compensation  and  stock  awards  detailed  herein  were  24 unjust  and  should  be  disgorged  or  returned  by  such  Defendants  because  they  acted  in  25 bad faith and in a disloyal manner by virtue of the conduct alleged in this complaint.  26 27 28 58  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT  1 VII.   DAMAGES TO ALPHABET AND GOOGLE  172. As  a  result  of  the  Individual  Defendants’  improprieties,  Alphabet  and  2 Google have suffered significant financial harm.   3 173. Due to the Individual Defendants’ misconduct, Alphabet and Google paid  4 Rubin  $90  million,  which  represented  corporate  waste.    Similar  to  the  low‐level  5 employees  whose  employment  was  terminated  because  Google  found  allegations  of  6 sexual harassment to be credible, Rubin should have been fired for cause and not given  7 any severance.  8 174. Similarly,  due  to  the  Individual  Defendants’  wrongdoing,  Alphabet  and  9 Google  paid  millions  in  severance  to  Amit  Singhal,  who  should  have  been  fired  for  10 cause and not given any severance.    11 175. Moreover,  Alphabet  and  Google’s  reputation,  goodwill,  and  market  12 capitalization have been harmed as a result of the Individual Defendants’ misconduct.  13 176. Further,  as  a  direct  and  proximate  result  of  the  Individual  Defendants’  14 actions, Alphabet and Google have expended, and will continue to expend, significant  15 sums of money.  Such expenditures include, but are not limited to:  16 (a) costs  incurred  from  having  to  hire  new  employees,  as  employees  17 have  quit  in  protest  over  Defendants’  misconduct  and  the  double  standard  18 employed by Alphabet and Google;   19 (b) costs  incurred  from  defending  and  paying  settlements  in  sexual  20 harassment lawsuits, since the Individual Defendants’ wrongdoing caused sexual  21 harassment to proliferate at Google;    22 (c) costs  incurred  from  defending  and  settling  governmental  23 investigations into the Individual Defendants’ misconduct;   24 (d) loss of reputation; and  (e) costs  incurred  from  compensation  and  benefits  paid  to  the  25 26 Individual Defendants who have breached their duties to Google.  27 28 59  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT  1   VIII. DERIVATIVE AND DEMAND FUTILITY ALLEGATIONS  177. Plaintiff  brings  this  action  derivatively  in  the  right  and  for  the  benefit  of  2 Google to redress injuries suffered, and to be suffered, by Alphabet as a direct result of  3 breaches of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, waste  of corporate  4 assets,  and  unjust  enrichment,  as  well  as  the  aiding  and  abetting  thereof,  by  the  5 Individual Defendants.  Alphabet is named as a nominal defendant solely in a derivative  6 capacity.  This is not a collusive action to confer jurisdiction on this Court that it would  7 not otherwise have.  8 178. Plaintiff and his counsel will adequately and fairly represent the interests  9 of Alphabet in enforcing and prosecuting its rights.  10 179. Plaintiff was a shareholder of Google and then Alphabet at the time of the  11 wrongdoing complained of, has continuously been a shareholder of Alphabet since that  12 time, and is a current Alphabet shareholder.    13 180. Plaintiff has delivered to Alphabet a true copy of this Complaint prior to its  181. The  current  Board  of  Alphabet  consists  of  the  following  eleven  14 filing.  15 16 individuals:  defendants  Page,  Brin,  Schmidt,  Doerr,  Ferguson,  Mulally,  Pichai,  17 Hennessy,  Mather,  Shriram,  and  Greene  (the  “Demand  Directors”).    Plaintiff  has  not  18 made a demand on the Board to institute this action, because such a demand would be  19 a futile, useless act, as set forth below.   20 21 A. Demand Is Futile Because the Demand Directors Lack Independence  182. Plaintiff has  not made a  demand  on Alphabet’s Board to  investigate  and  22 prosecute  the  wrongdoing  alleged  herein.  Such  a  demand  is  futile  and  therefore  23 excused because: (a) the Board’s wrongful conduct is not subject to protection under the  24 business  judgment  rule;  and  (b)  a  majority  of  the  Board  is  unable  to  conduct  an  25 independent  and  disinterested  investigation  of  the  alleged  wrongdoing.    Under  such  26 circumstances, the demand requirement is excused since making such a demand on the  27 28 60  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Board would be futile.  Aronson v. Lewis, 473 A.2d 805 (Del. 1984) overruled by Brehm v.  2 Eisner, 746 A.2d 244 (Del. 2000); Rales v. Blasband, 634 A.2d 927 (Del. 1993).   3 183. The  Board  was  aware  of,  and  is  responsible  for,  Alphabet  and  Google’s  4 employment policies and practices, as well as its failure to disclose credible allegations of  5 sexual harassment by Google senior executives.  The Board breached its fiduciary duties  6 of good faith, loyalty, and due care by failing to properly investigate, handle, and resolve  7 allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct committed by Google executives.  The  8 Boards’  actions  and  omissions  amounted  to  breach  of  fiduciary  duty,  abuse  of  control,  9 gross mismanagement, and waste of corporate assets.  10 B. At  the  Outset,  Demand  Is  Futile  as  to  Defendants  Page,  Brin,  Schmidt,  Greene  and  Pichai  Because,  as  Alphabet  Admits,  These  “Inside”  Demand Directors Lack Independence  184. As  stated  in  Alphabet’s  April  27,  2018  Proxy  Statement,  the  Board  “has  11 12 13 adopted  independence  standards  that  mirror  the  criteria  specified  by  applicable  laws  14 and regulations of the SEC and the Listing Rules of NASDAQ.”  15 185. Under  its  own  “independence  standards,”  Alphabet  admits  in  the  2018  16 Proxy Statement that five members of its eleven‐member Board — Page, Brin, Schmidt,  17 Greene, and Pichai — are not independent.  18 C. Demand  Is  Futile  Because  Defendants  Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt  Dominate and Control the Board   186. As of April 18, 2018, Alphabet has issued three classes of stock: 298,656,198  19 20 shares  of  Class  A  common  stock;  46,940,340  shares  of  Class  B  common  stock;  and  21 348,952,225 shares of Class C capital stock.  On matters requiring shareholder approval,  22 such as the election of directors, the holders of the shares of Class A common stock and  23 Class B common stock vote as a single class, while Class C stock has no voting power.   24 Each  share  of  Class  A  common  stock  is  entitled  to  one  vote,  and  each  share  of  Class  B  25 common stock is entitled to ten votes.  26 187. Under this dual‐class voting structure, defendants Page, Brin, and Schmidt  27 control  a  majority  of  Alphabet’s  total  voting  power  because,  as  of  April  18,  2018,  they  28 61  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 hold an aggregate of 43,526,358 shares — approximately 92.7% — of Alphabet’s Class B  2 shares, giving them 56.6% voting control.  In addition, a group of 13 Alphabet directors  3 and  executive  officers,  including  defendants  Page,  Brin,  Schmidt,  Doerr,  Pichai,  and  4 Drummond hold an aggregate of 44,656,305 shares — constituting approximately 95.1%  5 — of the Class B shares.  Details of the voting control exercised by defendants Page, Brin,  6 Schmidt, and Doerr, as of April 18, 2018, are set forth in the chart below:    7 Name  Class B Shares and Percentage Owned  Voting Control 8 Larry Page  25.9% 19,952,558 42.5%  25.1% 19,290,366 41.1%  9 Sergey Brin  5.6% Eric Schmidt  4,283,434 9.1%  10 L. John Doerr  1.5% 1,117,447 2.4%  58.2% 44,656,305 95.1%  11 Total    12 188. In  fact,  defendants  Page  and  Brin  have  owned  and  exercised  majority  13 voting control of Alphabet’s stock since Google’s IPO in 2004.  According to Alphabet’s  14 Proxy Statements, Page and Brin have controlled between 51% and 54.3% of Alphabet’s  15 stock  voting  power  every  year  between  2014  and  2018.    In  addition,  Schmidt  has  16 controlled at least 5.5% of Alphabet’s stock voting power between 2014 and 2018.  Thus,  17 the aggregate stockholdings of Page, Brin, and Schmidt have accounted for at least 56.6%  18 of Alphabet’s voting power at all relevant times.  19 189. Defendants  Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt  maintained  majority  voting  control  20 over Alphabet’s stock throughout these years, even though multiple shareholders have  21 proposed  at  the  shareholder  meetings  each  year  to  amend  Alphabet’s  certificate  of  22 incorporation  to  implement  a  one‐vote‐per‐share  policy.    Each  year,  the  Board  —  23 controlled  by  Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt  —  voted  their  controlling  shares  against  such  24 proposals,  thereby  single‐handedly  defeating  the  proposals  without  even  considering  25 the  votes  of  the  minority  shareholders.    Moreover,  Alphabet’s  Board  made  the  26 recommendations  to  shareholders  against  these  proposals  even  though  the  evidence  27 suggests  that  the  current  dual‐class  voting  structure  deprives  Alphabet’s  public  28 62  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 shareholders of their ability to press for reform and to hold management accountable for  2 misconduct.    As  stated  in  shareholder  Proposal  4  in  the  2018  Proxy  Statement,  3 Alphabet’s  dual‐class  voting  structure  received  a  “high‐risk”  rating  with  respect  to  4 corporate governance:    5 In our company’s dual‐class voting structure, each share of Class A  common stock has one vote and each share of Class B common stock has 10  6 votes.  As a result, Mr. Page and Mr. Brin currently control over 51% of our  company’s  total  voting  power,  while  owning  less  than  13%  of  stock.    All  7 insiders  control  nearly  57%  of  the  vote.  This  raises  concerns  that  the  interests  of  public  shareholders  may  be  subordinated  to  those  of  our  co‐ 8 founders.  By allowing certain stock to have more voting power than other  stock our company takes our public shareholder money but does not let us  9 have  an  equal  voice  in  our  company’s  management.  Without  a  voice,  shareholders cannot hold management accountable.  10   For  example,  despite  the  fact  that  more  than  85%  of  outsiders  11 (average  shareholders)  voted  AGAINST  the  creation  of  a  third  class  of  stock  (class  C)  in  2012,  the  weight  of  the  insiders’  10  votes  per  share  12 allowed the passage of this proposal.    13 …    14 In reaction to the change at the S&P, Ken Bertsch, executive director  of  the  Council  of  Institutional  Investors,  stated:  “Multi‐class  structures  ...  15 rob  shareholders  of  the  power  to  press  for  change  when  something  goes  wrong,  which  happens  sooner  or  later  at  most  if  not  all  companies  ...  16 Shareholders at such companies have no say in electing the directors who  are supposed to oversee management.”  17   Independent  analysts  appear  to  agree  with  our  concerns.  As  of  18 December  1,  2017,  Institutional  Shareholder  Services  (ISS),  which  rates  companies on risk, gave our company a 10, its highest risk category, for the  19 Governance  Quality  Score.    ISS  rates  our  shareholder  rights  and  compensation  a  10,  and  our  board  is  rated  a  9,  also  indicating  relatively  20 higher risk according to the ISS.  21 190. Despite the corporate‐governance risks resulting from the dual‐class voting  22 structure,  the  Board  continued,  year  after  year,  to  justify  its  recommendation  to  vote  23 against  any  equal‐shareholder‐voting  proposal  on  the  purported  basis  that  allowing  24 Page and Brin control over Alphabet would provide “stability over long time horizons.”  25 191. In addition to controlling the majority of Alphabet’s voting power, Page,  26 Brin,  and  Schmidt  exercise  control  and  domination  over  the  entire  eleven‐member  27 Board.    In  fact,  Alphabet  has  repeatedly  admitted  in  its  annual  reports  during  the  28 63  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 relevant  period  that  defendants  Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt  “have  significant  influence  2 over management and affairs and over all matters requiring stockholder approval,” and  3 that they have the ability to elect all of [Alphabet’s] directors”:    4 As  of  December  31,  2017,  Larry,  Sergey,  and  Eric  E.  Schmidt  beneficially  owned  approximately  92.7%  of  our  outstanding  Class  B  5 common  stock,  which  represented  approximately  56.7%  of  the  voting  power  of  our  outstanding  capital  stock.    Larry,  Sergey,  and  Eric  therefore  6 have  significant  influence  over  management  and  affairs  and  over  all  matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors  7 and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our  company  or  our  assets,  for  the  foreseeable  future.    In  addition  …,  the  8 issuance of the Class C capital stock … could prolong the duration of Larry  and  Sergey’s  current  relative  ownership  of  our  voting  power  and  their  9 ability to elect all of our directors and to determine the outcome of most  matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders.  Together with Eric, they  10 would  also  continue  to  be  able  to  control  any  required  stockholder  vote  with respect to certain change in control transactions involving Alphabet  11 (including an acquisition of Alphabet by another company).    12 This  concentrated  control  limits  or  severely  restricts  our  stockholders’  ability  to  influence  corporate  matters  and,  as  a  result,  we  13 may  take  actions  that  our  stockholders  do  not  view  as  beneficial.    As  a  result,  the  market  price  of  our  Class  A  common  stock  and  our  Class  C  14 capital stock could be adversely affected.  15 See Alphabet’s Form 10‐K Filed with the SEC on February 5, 2018, at 18–19.   16 192. Due  to  the  control  and  domination  exercised  by  Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt,  17 the  other  Demand  Directors  are  prevented  from  taking  remedial  action  against  18 defendants  Brin,  Page,  and  Schmidt.    Indeed,  Alphabet’s  Proxy  Statements  have  19 repeatedly  conceded  that  Brin,  Page  and  Schmidt  exercise  control  over  the  “election  of  20 directors” due to their stock voting control and can therefore easily fire any director they  21 do  not  like  or  who  would  dare  to  take  any  legal  action  against  them.    A  demand  is  22 therefore futile and excused.  23 D. Demand is Futile Because a Majority of the Board Completely Abdicated  Its Fiduciary Duties  193. Corporate  directors’  actions  are  only  protected  by  the  business  judgment  24 25 26 27 rule to the extent that directors fully inform themselves before taking action and act in  good faith, in a manner they believe is in the best interests of the corporation.  28 64  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 194.   Here,  as  demonstrated  above,  Google’s  directors  completely  failed  to  2 inform  themselves  before  taking  action  with  respect  to  Rubin’s  compensation  and  3 termination, and instead blindly deferred to Defendant Page.    4 195. The actions that Alphabet’s Board took with respect to Rubin represented  5 active and conscious decisions, not failures to act.  Thus, before acting, Alphabet’s Board  6 had  a  duty  to  fully  inform  themselves  of  all  material  facts,  which  they  wholly  and  7 abysmally failed to do.    8 196. At  the  time  Alphabet’s  Board  agreed  to  pay  $90  million  in  severance  to  9 Rubin,  the  Board  consisted  of  a  majority  of  those  individuals  still  on  the  Board.   10 Specifically,  the  Board  at  the  time  consisted  of  Defendants  Page,  Brin,  Schmidt,  Doerr,  11 Greene, Hennessy, Mather, Mulally, Shriram, and Tilghman.  Thus, demand is excused  12 as to a majority of the current Board.   13 E. Demand  Is  Futile  Because  a  Majority  of  the  Board  Cannot  Conduct  an  Independent  and  Objective  Investigation  of  the  Misconduct  Due  to  Their Close Professional and Personal Relationships   197. Demand is futile if at least a majority of Google’s Board cannot fairly and  14 15 16 independently adjudicate potential claims against themselves.  Of the current Board, all  17 directors  except  two  of  the  Demand  Directors  were  on  the  Board  in  2014,  when  the  18 Board concealed the credible claims of sexual harassment against Rubin, and instead of  19 terminating  Rubin,  paid  him  a  $90  million  severance  package.    Moreover,  all  Demand  20 Directors were on the Board in late 2017, when they failed to remedy their misconduct in  21 late 2017, when the first report of Rubin’s sexual harassment emerged.   A majority of the  22 Board therefore engaged, and continues to engage, in the wrongdoing and has interests  23 that are adverse to performing a fair, unbiased investigation.  24 198. Defendants  Brin,  Page,  and  Schmidt  were  directly  involved  in  asking  25 Rubin to resign and in paying him $90 million, and they deliberately concealed the fact  26 that  Google  had  performed  an  internal  investigation  that  found  the  allegations  against  27 Rubin to be credible.  Defendants Doerr, Hennessy, Greene, Mather, and Shriram were  28 65  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 also  on  the  Board  at  the  time,  were  fully  briefed  about  the  fact  that  the  internal  2 investigation  had  found  the  allegations  against  Rubin  to  be  credible,  and  directly  3 participated in the wrongdoing and the cover‐up.  For example, Doerr and Shriram were  4 on  the  Leadership  Development  and  Compensation  Committee  that  approved  the  5 payment to Rubin and which was involved in the internal investigation.  Hennessy was  6 the  Lead  Independent  Director  at  the  time  and  the  Chair  of  the  Nominating  and  7 Corporate Governance Committee.    8 199. Moreover,  Doerr,  Shriram,  Greene,  Hennessy  and  Mather  are  not  9 independent of defendants Brin, Page, and Schmidt due to their close professional and  10 personal relationships.  These relationships have caused conflicts of interest precluding  11 defendants  Doerr,  Hennessy,  Shriram,  Mather,  and  Greene  from  taking  any  necessary  12 and proper steps against Brin, Page, and Schmidt on behalf of the Company as requested  13 herein.  None of these six directors are disinterested as explained herein.  14 200. Page  and  Brin:    Defendants  Brin  and  Page  met  at  Stanford  University  in  15 1995, when Page was 22 years old, and Brin was 21.  They crammed a dorm room with  16 inexpensive  computers  and  used  defendant  Brin’s  data  mining  system  on  a  research  17 project  together  at  Stanford  in  1996,  during  which  time  they  became  friends.  The  18 research  project,  known  as  “BackRub,”  explored  backlinks,  or  links  on  other  websites  19 that  refer  back  to  a  given  webpage,  as  a  way  to  measure  the  relative  importance  of  a  20 particular site.  Defendants Page and Brin then developed an algorithm together called  21 “PageRank”  which  returned  rankings  based  on  the  number  of  times  a  search  term  22 appeared.  The program became so popular that they both suspended their PhD studies  23 to  start  Google,  which  they  initially  ran  out  of  their  dorm  rooms.    During  all  relevant  24 times,  defendants  Page  and  Brin  worked  closely  together,  even  sharing  the  same  tiny  25 office, talking about all the issues impacting Google, and being the final decision‐makers  26 on all major decisions.  27 28 66  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 201. Schmidt:  Defendant Schmidt joined Google in 2001 as CEO and has held a  2 seat  on  the  Board  since  then.    Since  April  2011,  he  has  been  Google’s  Executive  3 Chairman.  He has always been considered the “resident grown‐up” at Google.  He has a  4 close  relationship  with  defendants  Brin  and  Page  and  with  them  has  control  over  5 decisions  at  Google.    He  holds  a  bachelor’s  degree  in  electrical  engineering  from  6 Princeton  University  as  well  as  a  master’s  degree  and  Ph.D.  in  computer  science  from  7 the University of California, Berkeley.  Prior to joining Google, he worked at Bell Labs,  8 Xerox  Corp.,  Sun  Microsystems,  and  Novell.    Schmidt  was  a  member  of  Princeton  9 University’s  board  from  2004–2008.    Defendant  Schmidt’s  charitable  giving  includes  10 donating  $25  million  in  2010  to  Princeton  University  to  create  an  endowment,  the  11 Schmidt  Transformative  Technology  Fund,  which  donation  was  announced  by  12 defendant  Tilghman,  who  was  then  the  President  of  Princeton.    Schmidt  has  taught  at  13 Stanford University.  14 202. Defendants Hennessy, Shriram, Mather, and Greene are not independent  15 from  defendants  Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt,  due  to  their  interrelated  business,  16 professional,  and  personal  relationships.    These  relationships  have  resulted  in  17 debilitating conflicts of interest that prevent defendants Hennessy, Shriram, and Greene  18 from  taking  the  necessary  and  proper  action  on  behalf  of  the  Company  as  requested  19 herein.    20 203. Hennessy:  Defendant  Hennessy  is  the  former  President  of  Stanford,  and  21 served in that role from 2000 to August 2016.  Defendant Hennessy has been a member  22 of the Boards of Cisco Systems, Inc. and Atheros Communications, Inc.  Hennessy is still  23 a professor of Stanford and very influential at the school.  In addition to  his work as a  24 Professor  at  Stanford,  he  has  served  as  Chair  of  the  Department  of  Computer  Science  25 (1994‐96),  Dean  of  the  School  of  Engineering  (1996‐99),  Provost  (1999‐2000),  and  26 President  (2000‐2016).  He  is  currently  the  Director  of  the  Knight‐Hennessy  Scholars  27 Program.  28 67  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 204.  At  the  direction  of  defendants  Brin  and  Page,  who  are  Stanford  alumni,  2 Google  donates  millions  of  dollars  every  year  to  Stanford.    Since  2006,  Google  has  3 donated over $14.4 million to the University.  Defendant Hennessy’s role at Google has  4 created  the  closest  intersection  with  his  Stanford  duties  per  The  Wall  Street  Journal.    In  5 2004, several months before Google’s IPO, the Company appointed defendant Hennessy  6 to  its  Board.    Defendant  Doerr,  one  of  Google’s  original  investors  and  directors,  made  7 the first overture to defendant Hennessy.  Defendant Hennessy has invested money with  8 defendant  Doerr’s  firm,  Kleiner  Perkins  Caufield  &  Byers  (“Kleiner  Perkins”).  Google  9 granted  defendant  Hennessy  65,000  options  to  buy  Google  stock  at  $20  apiece.    After  10 Google’s IPO, SEC filings reveal that defendant Hennessy received 10,556 Google shares  11 as part of an earlier investment in a Kleiner Perkins fund.   12 205. With his positions at Stanford and Google, defendant Hennessy effectively  13 sits  on  two  sides  of  a  business  relationship.    Google  licenses  its  Internet  search  14 technology  from  Stanford,  where  defendant  Brin  and  Page  started  the  Company  and  15 were  Ph.D.  students.    As  payment,  Stanford  received  shares  in  the  offering  that  the  16 school has since sold for $336 million.  Stanford continues to receive what it describes as  17 “modest”  annual  licensing  fees  from  Google.    Paul  Aiken,  Executive  Director  of  the  18 Authors  Guild,  calls  defendant  Hennessy’s  personal  holdings  in  Google  “a  great  19 concern”  and  says  “there  seems  to  be  both  a  personal  and  institutional  profit  motive  20 here.”    In  November 2006, Google pledged  $2  million  to  Stanford Law School’s Center  21 for Internet and Society, founded by Stanford Professor Lawrence Lessig, known for his  22 views that copyright laws are often too restrictive.  Aine Donovan, Executive Director of  23 the  Ethics  Institute  at  Dartmouth  College,  says  Stanford  should  not  have  accepted  the  24 25 26 27 28 68  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Google gift because it is too narrowly tailored to benefit Google’s corporate interests.  “It  2 might as well be the Google Center,” she says.22   3 206. Defendant Hennessey attended a political dinner with defendants Schmidt  4 and Greene at defendant Doerr’s home in February 2011; to no one’s surprise, defendant  5 Hennessey was the only non‐business leader invited.23  Additionally, defendant Schmidt  6 joins a third of Professor Peter Wendell’s Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital classes  7 at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.  Defendant Schmidt stated when Google is  8 looking  for  engineers,  they  start  at  Stanford.    Five  percent  of  Google  employees  are  9 Stanford graduates.24   10 207. Defendant  Hennessy  has  much  to  lose  by  voting  to  initiate  litigation  11 against  defendants  Brin  or  Page.    If  defendant  Hennessy  voted  to  initiate  litigation  12 against  defendants  Brin,  Page,  or  Schmidt,  Stanford  would  risk  losing  multi‐million‐ 13 dollar  donations  every  year.    As  one  of  defendant  Hennessy’s  principle  duties  is  to  14 ensure  continued  alumni  support  as  Stanford’s  President,  he  would  not  jeopardize  the  15 loss  of  such  a  substantial  donation.    Furthermore,  defendant  Hennessy  would  not  risk  16 his prestigious positions at Stanford or Google’s continued support of the University by  17 voting  to  initiate  litigation  against  defendants  Brin,  Page,  or  Schmidt.    Accordingly,  18 defendant  Hennessy  lacks  independence  from  defendants  Brin,  Page,  and  Schmidt,  19 rendering a pre‐suit demand on him futile.   20 21 22                                                   22 John Hechinger & Rebecca Buckman, “The Golden Touch of Stanford’s President,”  23 THE  WALL  STREET  JOURNAL  (Feb.  24,  2007)  (available  at  http://online.wsj.com/news/  articles/SB117226912853917727 (last visited Nov. 8, 2018)).  24 23  Ken  Auletta,  “Get  Rich  U,”  THE  NEW  YORKER  (Apr.  30,  2012)  (available  at  25 http://www. newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/30/120430fa_fact_auletta?currentPage=all  (last visited Nov. 8, 2018)).  26 24 Id.   27 28 69  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 208. Doerr:  Defendant  Doerr  has  been  a  partner  at  the  venture  capital  firm  of  2 Kleiner Perkins since August 1980, was an early investor in Google and has been on its  3 Board since May 1999.  4 209. It was in his capacity as a partner at Kleiner Perkins that he met defendants  5 Brin  and  Page,  according  to  a  book  written  with  full  cooperation  from  Google’s  top  6 management.    The  meeting  was  just  ending  when  defendant  Doerr  asked  a  final  7 question:  “How  big  do  you  think  this  can  be?”    “Ten  billion,”  said  defendant  Page.   8 “Doerr just about fell off his chair.  Surely, he replied to Page, you can’t be expecting a  9 market  cap  of  $10  billion.    Doerr  had  already  made  a  silent  calculation  that  Google’s  10 optimal market cap — the eventual value of the company — could go maybe as high as  11 one  billion  dollars.”    “Oh,  I’m  very  serious,”  said  defendant  Page.  “And  I  don’t  mean  12 market cap, I mean revenues.”  Defendant Doerr would go on to invest in Google.  The  13 Company  surpassed  even  defendant  Page’s  wild  projection.25    Defendant  Doerr  also  14 regularly visits Stanford to scout for ideas.  He describes Stanford as the “germplasm for  15 innovation.  I  can’t  imagine  Silicon  Valley  without  Stanford  University.”    He  hosts  16 political and charitable events attended by many of the other Google directors.  17 210. Furthermore,  defendant  Doerr  has  sought  and  obtained  significant  18 investments  from  Google  for  private  companies  in  which  Kleiner  Perkins  is  a  major  19 investor.  For example, Google bought Peakstream, Inc. for $20.3 million in 2007.  As part  20 owner of Peakstream, Inc., Kleiner Perkins received 24.5% of that figure (approximately  21 $5  million).    Kleiner  Perkins  invested  in  Intuit.    Since  then,  Google  has  continued  to  22 invest in companies in which Kleiner Perkins has major investments.  Since 2008, Google  23 has invested $47.5 million in the same companies in which Kleiner Perkins invested.  In  24 2010,  at  the  direction  of  defendants  Brin,  Page,  and  Schmidt,  Google  invested  over  $21  25                                                   25 Levy, Steven, In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives (New  26 York Simon & Schuster 2011).  27 28 70  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 million  in  companies  in  which  Kleiner  Perkins  has  a  substantial  interest.    If  defendant  2 Doerr voted in favor of initiating litigation against defendants Brin, Page, or Schmidt, he  3 would risk Google’s continued financial support in companies in which Kleiner Perkins  4 has major investments.  Defendant Doerr will not take such a risk.   5 211. Defendant Doerr has a close relationship with defendants Brin, Page, and  6 Schmidt,  having  been  one  of  the  early  investors  in  Google.    Doerr  also  introduced  7 Schmidt  to  Page  and  Brin.    Doerr’s  firm,  Kleiner  Perkins,  was  an  early  investor  in  Sun  8 Microsystems, where Schmidt began his career.  Schmidt held various positions at Sun  9 Microsystems  from  1983  to  March  1997.    In  1996,  when  defendant  Schmidt  was  Sun  10 Microsystems’ Chief Technology Officer, Kleiner Perkins formed a $100 million fund to  11 invest in companies that would create software and related products based on the Java  12 programming language developed by Sun Microsystems.    13 212. Defendant  Doerr  also  directed  early  venture  capital  funding  to  Netscape  14 Communications  Corp.  (“Netscape”)  in  1994  when  the  web  browser  company  was  15 founded, and defendant Shriram was its Vice President.  Netscape had not yet shipped  16 products  or  posted  revenue  during  these  now  legendary  early  days  of  the  Internet.   17 Defendant  Doerr’s  firm,  Kleiner  Perkins,  paid  $4  million  in  1994  for  around  25%  of  18 Netscape  and  profited  from  Netscape’s  IPO  and  subsequent  $4  billion  acquisition  by  19 America  Online,  Inc.  (“America  Online”)  in  1999.  Doerr  and  Shriram’s  close  working  20 relationship  began  with  Netscape  and  has  continued  on  to  Google’s  Board.    In  2006,  21 defendants Doerr and Shriram visited India together. “[Kleiner Perkins] and Shriram are  22 working  together  to  make  investments  in  Indian  companies  serving  the  domestic  23 market.  The  visit  by  [Kleiner  Perkins]  partners  and  Shriram  to  the  country  later  this  24 month is to meet entrepreneurs as well as business and political leaders,” stated Sandeep  25 26 27 28 71  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Murthy, who represented both Sherpalo Ventures, LLC (“Sherpalo”) (Shriram’s venture  2 capital firm) and Kleiner Perkins in India. 26    213. 3 Accordingly,  defendant  Doerr  is  not  independent  from  “interested”  4 defendants Brin, Page, and Schmidt.  As such, a pre‐suit demand on defendant Doerr is  5 futile.  6 214. Shriram:    Defendant  Shriram  was  one  of  four  angel  investors  in  Google  7 and  a  founding  member  of  its  Board,  on  which  he  continues  to  sit  today.    Defendant  8 Shriram  counseled  defendants  Brin  and  Page  every  Monday  morning  during  Google’s  9 earliest days and helped them to incorporate the Company.  Shriram also helped them  10 work  out  a  licensing  agreement  with  Stanford  so  the  University  would  benefit  if  their  11 two graduate students were successful.  According to Googled: The End of the World as We  12 Know  It,  a  Stanford  computer  science  professor,  David  Cheriton,  had  introduced  13 defendant  Shriram  to  defendants  Brin  and  Page  in  1998.27    Impressed  by  their  idea,  14 defendant Shriram made an investment of $250,000.  15 215. Defendant  Shriram  has  been  a  member  of  Stanford  University’s  board  16 since  December  2009.    As  a  Google  director  and  Stanford  trustee,  defendant  Shriram  17 closely  works  on  two  boards  with  defendant  Hennessey,  a  Google  director  since  April  18 2004 and President of Stanford since October 2000.  Shriram has a very close relationship  19 with the University. He and his wife have served on Stanford’s Parents Advisory Board  20 since 2006 and endowed the Shriram Family Professorship in Science Education.  Both of  21 his daughters are also students at Stanford.  Defendant Shriram also assisted defendants  22 23                                                   26 Ishani Duttagupta, “Moneybag VCs Shriram, Doerr set sail from US,” THE  TIMES OF  24 INDIA  (Jan.  9,  2009)  (available  at  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/  25 1363995. cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst.  27  Ken  Auletta,  Googled:  The  End  of  the  World  as  We  Know  It  (The  Penguin  Press:  26 New York, 2009).  27 28 72  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Brin  and  Page  in  negotiating  a  licensing  agreement  with  Stanford,  so  the  University  2 would benefit if Google was successful.  3 216. Alphabet’s  CFO,  Ruth  Porat,  also  currently  serves  on  Stanford’s  Board  of  4 Trustees with Shriram.   5 217. Shriram  became  a  Vice  President  of  Netscape  in  1994  during  the  now  6 legendary early days of the Internet when the web browser company was founded and  7 before it shipped products or posted revenue.  That same year, defendant Doerr directed  8 early venture capital funding to Netscape.  Doerr’s firm, Kleiner Perkins, paid $4 million  9 in 1994 for around 25% of Netscape and profited from Netscape’s IPO and subsequent $4  10 billion  acquisition  by  America  Online  in  1999.    Shriram  and  Doerr’s  close  working  11 relationship  began  with  Netscape  and  has  continued  on  to  Google’s  Board.    In  2006,  12 defendants  Shriram  and  Doerr  visited  India  together.    “[Kleiner  Perkins]  and  Shriram  13 are  working  together  to  make  investments  in  Indian  companies  serving  the  domestic  14 market.  The  visit  by  [Kleiner  Perkins]  partners  and  Shriram  to  the  country  later  this  15 month is to meet entrepreneurs as well as business and political leaders,” stated Sandeep  16 Murthy,  who  represented  both  Sherpalo  (Shriram’s  venture  capital  firm)  and  Kleiner  17 Perkins in India.  18 218. Accordingly, based upon defendant Shriram’s many ties and involvement,  19 he lacks independence, rendering a pre‐suit demand futile.  20 F. Demand  Is  Futile  Because  the  Demand  Defendants  Face  a  Substantial  Likelihood of Liability for Their Misconduct  219. Each of the Demand Defendants face a substantial likelihood of liability for  21 22 their roles in the sexual harassment scandal.  23 220. At the outset, defendants Page, Brin, and Schmidt breached their fiduciary  24 duties  by  setting  the  wrong  tone  at  the  top  and  by  fostering  a  culture  of  sexual  25 harassment  and  discrimination.    Specifically,  in  the  early  2000s,  defendant  Page  dated  26 Marissa Mayer, then an employee at Google.  Defendant Schmidt, who joined Google as  27 CEO  in  2001,  retained  a  mistress  to  work  as  a  Google  consultant.    And  in  2014,  as  28 73  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Alphabet conducted an internal investigation regarding claims of sexual misconduct by  2 defendant Rubin, defendant Brin had an extra‐marital affair with a Google employee.    3 221. Upon information and belief, at all relevant times, the Board’s LDCC was  4 directly  involved  in  reviewing:  (a)  complaints  about  sexual  harassment  at  Google;  and  5 (b)  severance  payments  to  executives,  like  Rubin,  who  were  forced  out  due  to  credible  6 allegations of sexual harassment or discrimination.  7 222. In  2014,  while  Alphabet’s  internal  investigation  of  defendant  Rubin’s  8 sexual misconduct was under way, defendant Page and the three members of the LDCC  9 (defendants  Doerr  and  Shriram,  as  well  as  nonparty  Paul  S.  Otellini)  reviewed  and  10 approved the $150 million stock grant to Rubin.    11 223. Without  waiting  for  a  complete,  conclusive  report  on  the  investigation’s  12 findings, Page and the LDCC members approved the $150 million stock grant to Rubin.    13 224. This  decision  proved  significant  for  two  reasons.    First,  this  stock  grant  14 gave  Rubin  a  major  financial  incentive  for  remaining  at  Google.    Second,  it  also  gave  15 Rubin  an  enormous  bargaining  chip  for  negotiating  a  favorable  severance  package,  16 when he was later forced to resign.    17 225. Sometime before October 2014, Alphabet’s internal investigation concluded  18 that  the  allegations  of  sexual  misconduct  against  defendant  Rubin  were  credible.   19 Specifically,  a  female  employee,  with  whom  Rubin  was  having  an  extra‐marital  affair,  20 accused Rubin of coercing her to perform oral sex in a hotel room in 2013.    21 226. Upon information and belief, the Board’s Audit Committee (comprised of  22 defendants  Greene,  Mulally,  and  Mather  in  2014)  and  the  LDCC  (comprised  of  23 defendants Doerr and Shriram, as well as nonparty Mr. Otellini), along with defendants  24 Page,  Brin,  and  Schmidt,  as  well  as  defendant  Hennessy,  received  information  and  25 reports  about  the  findings  of  the  investigation  regarding  Rubin.    All  nine  Demand  26 Directors were advised that the allegations were found to be credible.    27 28 74  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 227. Based  on  the  findings  of  the  internal  investigation,  the  Board  could  have  2 terminated Rubin for cause.  But Page and others decided to quietly ask Rubin to resign,  3 without  exposing  Rubin’s  misconduct,  even  though  the  claims  of  sexual  harassment  4 against him had been found to be credible.    5 228. For  his  part,  Doerr  has  additional,  personal  reasons  for  wanting  to  avoid  6 being  associated  with  any  allegations  of  sexual  harassment  or  discrimination.    In  2014,  7 Doerr’s  venture  capital  firm,  Kleiner  Perkins,  was  defending  a  lawsuit  brought  by  a  8 former  junior  partner,  Ellen  Pao,  who  claimed  to  have  experienced  sexual  harassment  9 and  discrimination  while  working  at  Kleiner  Perkins  between  2005  and  2012.    Pao’s  10 lawsuit, filed in 2012, sought damages in excess of $16 million.  Doerr was a key witness  11 in  Pao’s  case,  because  he  mentored  Pao  when  she  worked  for  him  for  two  years  as  12 technical chief of staff.  As Doerr was dealing with the internal investigation and Rubin’s  13 resignation at Alphabet, Pao’s lawsuit was proceeding in discovery in earnest.   14 229. Defendant  Rubin  took  advantage  of  the  Board’s  desire  to  cover  up  the  15 sexual  misconduct  claims  against  him.    Using  the  leverage  of  the  $150  million  stock  16 grant,  Rubin  secured  a  $90  million  severance  package,  to  be  paid  by  monthly  17 installments between $1.25 million and $2.5 million over four years.  Upon information  18 and  belief,  Page  and  the  members  of  the  LDCC  reviewed  and  approved  Rubin’s  $90  19 million severance package.  20 230. Upon  information  and  belief,  the  Audit  Committee  (consisting  of  21 defendants  Mather  (Chairperson),  Shriram,  and  Greene)  consciously  or  recklessly  22 ignored  the  financial  and  reputational  risk  to  Alphabet  from  (a)  concealing  Rubin’s  23 misconduct;  (b)  permitting  Rubin  to  resign,  despite  the  findings  of  the  internal  24 investigation and the ample basis to terminate him for cause; and (c) awarding Rubin a  25 $90  million  severance  package.    Through  their  active  involvement  in  these  unlawful  26 practices,  the  Audit  Committee  members  have  exposed  Alphabet  and  Google  to  a  27 28 75  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 significant amount of potential liability on top of the already realized attorneys’ fees and  2 loss of goodwill.    3 231. Moreover,  all  Demand  Directors  were  on  the  Board  in  November  2017,  4 when  allegations  of  Rubin’s  sexual  misconduct  first  came  to  light.    Despite  this  5 revelation, however, the Demand Directors failed to disclose the true reasons for Rubinʹs  6 “resignation” and the true facts regarding the 2014 internal investigation.  7 232. The  foregoing  facts  demonstrate  that  the  Demand  Directors  acted  in  bad  8 faith  and  breached  their  duty  of  loyalty  to  Alphabet  by  (a)  failing  to  implement  and  9 maintain  adequate  internal  controls  at  Alphabet;  (b)  fostering  a  culture  that  permitted  10 rampant  sexual  harassment  and  discrimination  at  Google;  (c)  actively  participating  in  11 the  cover‐up  of  Google  executives’  sexual  harassment;  and  (d)  failing  to  ensure  that  12 Google  complied  with  rules  and  regulations  regarding  sexual  harassment  and  13 discrimination.  As such, a pre‐suit demand is futile and excused.    14 G. The  Statute  of  Limitations  Does  Not  Bar  Plaintiff’s  Claims  or,  Alternatively, Was Tolled  15 233. The  statute  of  limitations  does  not  bar  Plaintiff’s  shareholder  derivative  16 action.  Plaintiff has brought this Complaint within the applicable statute of limitations.  17 234. Alternatively,  the  statute  of  limitations  was  tolled  during  the  Individual  18 Defendants’  adverse  domination  of  Google  and  the  concealment  by  the  Individual  19 Defendants of their wrongful acts.  Here, the Demand Directors and Google were wholly  20 under  the  adverse  domination  of  Brin,  Page,  and  Schmidt,  who  collectively  control  21 almost  two‐thirds  of  shareholder  votes.    Consequently,  the  Demand  Directors  were  22 “deemed to be in the same position as an incompetent person or a minor without legal  23 capacity  either  to  know  or  to  act  in  relation  to”  the  wrongful  conduct.    Moreover,  24 Defendants  concealed,  and  continue  to  conceal,  their  wrongful  acts  and  this  is  a  25 continuing  conspiracy.  The  statute  of  limitations  has  therefore  been  tolled  since  26 defendants  Brin,  Page,  and  Schmidt  adversely  dominated  Google.    The  statute  of  27 limitations  should  not  bar  Plaintiff,  an  innocent  stockholder,  from  bringing  this  28 76  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 shareholder  derivative  suit.    Additionally,  Plaintiff  did  not  and  could  not  have  2 discovered the liability of the Individual Defendants until the revelation of misconduct  3 by the October 26, 2018 article in The New York Times.  4 IX. CAUSES OF ACTION  COUNT I   Breach of Fiduciary Duty  Against All Individual Defendants and Does 1–30  5 6 7 235. Plaintiff incorporates by reference and realleges each and every allegation  8 contained above, as though fully set forth herein.  9 236. The  Individual  Defendants  and  Does  1–30  owed  and  owe  Alphabet  10 fiduciary  obligations.    By  reason  of  their  fiduciary  relationships,  the  Individual  11 Defendants owed and owe Alphabet the highest obligation of good faith, fair dealing,  12 loyalty, and due care.  13 237. The Individual Defendants and Does 1–30, and each of them, violated and  14 breached their fiduciary duties of candor, good faith, and loyalty.  More specifically, the  15 Individual Defendants violated their duty of good faith by, despite having knowledge  16 of pervasive sexual harassment by Google executives, failing to disclose the harassment  17 and by taking steps to cover it up.  18 238. The  Individual  Defendants  owed  Google  the  highest  duty  of  loyalty.   19 These defendants breached their duty of loyalty because they knowingly or recklessly:  20 (a) allowed defendants Page, Brin, and Schmidt to dominate and control the Board with  21 little  to  no  effective  oversight;  (b)  failed  to  implement  and  maintain  adequate  internal  22 controls  at  Alphabet;  (c)  fostered  a  culture  that  permitted  rampant  sexual  harassment  23 and  discrimination  at  Google;  (d)  actively  participated  in  the  cover‐up  of  Google  24 executives’ sexual harassment; and (e) failed to ensure that Google complied with rules  25 and regulations regarding sexual harassment and discrimination.  26 239. As a direct and proximate result of the Individual Defendants’ and Does  27 1‐30’s  breaches  of  their  fiduciary  obligations,  Alphabet  has  sustained  significant  28 77  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 damages,  as  alleged  herein.    As  a  result  of  the  misconduct  alleged  herein,  these  2 defendants are liable to the Company.  COUNT II   Abuse of Control  Against Defendants Page, Brin, Doerr, and Schmidt  3 4 5 240. Plaintiff incorporates by reference and realleges each and every allegation  6 contained above, as though fully set forth herein.  7 241. By  virtue  of  their  positions  and  financial  holdings  at  Alphabet  and  8 Google, defendants Page, Brin, Doerr and Schmidt exercised control over Alphabet and  9 its  operations,  and  owed  duties  as  controlling  persons  to  Alphabet  not  to  use  their  10 positions of control for their own personal interests and contrary to Alphabet’s interests.  11 242. Defendants  Brin,  Schmidt,  Doerr  and  Page’s  conduct  alleged  herein  12 constitutes an abuse of their ability to control and influence Alphabet, for which they are  13 legally responsible.  14 243. As  a  result  of  defendants  Page,  Brin,  Doerr  and  Schmidt’s  abuse  of  15 control,  Alphabet  has  sustained  and  will  continue  to  sustain  damages  and  injuries  for  16 which it has no adequate remedy at law.  17 244. Because  the  acts  of  defendants  named  herein,  and  each  of  them,  were  18 done  maliciously,  oppressively,  and  with  intent  to  defraud,  Plaintiff  on  behalf  of  19 Alphabet  is  entitled  to  punitive  and  exemplary  damages  in  an  amount  to  be  shown  20 according to proof at the time of trial.  COUNT III   Waste of Corporate Assets  Against All Individual Defendants and Does 1–30  21 22 23 245. Plaintiff incorporates by reference and realleges each and every allegation  24 contained above, as though fully set forth herein.  25 246. As  a  result  of  the  wrongdoing  detailed  herein  and  by  failing  to  conduct  26 proper  supervision,  the  Individual  Defendants  and  Does  1‐30  have  caused  Alphabet  27 and Google to waste its assets by paying improper compensation and bonuses to certain  28 78  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 of its executive officers and directors who breached their fiduciary duties.  Such waste  2 of corporate assets includes the tens of millions of dollars in severance packages paid to  3 defendants Rubin and Singhal in 2014 and 2015, respectively.    247. 4 As a result of the waste of corporate assets, the Individual Defendants and  5 Does 1–30 are liable to Alphabet.  248. 6 Plaintiff, on behalf of Alphabet, has no adequate remedy at law.  COUNT IV   Unjust Enrichment  Against Defendants Schmidt, Drummond, Doerr, Shriram, Page, Rubin, Singhal  Pichai, and Does 1‐30  7 8 9 249. 10 Plaintiff incorporates by reference and realleges each and every allegation  11 contained above, as though fully set forth herein.  250. 12 By  their  wrongful  acts  and  omissions,  defendants  Schmidt,  Drummond,  13 Doerr,  Shriram,  Rubin,  Singhal,  Pichai,  and  Does  1‐30  were  unjustly  enriched  at  the  14 expense  of  and  to  the  detriment  of  Alphabet  and  Google.    These  defendants  were  15 unjustly  enriched  as  a  result  of  the  compensation  and  benefits  they  received  while  16 breaching  fiduciary  duties  owed  to  Alphabet  and  Google.    Each  of  these  defendants  17 received tens of millions of dollars in salaries, cash bonuses, and equity grants through  18 their employment at Alphabet and Google, as alleged herein.     251. 19 Plaintiff, as  shareholder and representative  of Alphabet, seeks restitution  20 from these defendants, and each of them, and seeks an order of this Court disgorging  21 all profits, benefits, and other compensation obtained by these defendants, and each of  22 them, from their wrongful conduct and fiduciary breaches.    23 252. Plaintiff, on behalf of Alphabet, has no adequate remedy at law.  24 X. PRAYER FOR RELIEF  25 WHEREFORE,  Plaintiff,  on  behalf  of  Google,  requests  judgment  and  relief  as  26 follows:  27 A. Against  all  of  the  Defendants,  jointly  and  severally,  and  in  favor  of  28 79  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT    1 Alphabet  for  the  amount  of  damages  sustained  by  the  Company  along  with  pre‐  and  2 post‐judgment  interest  as  allowed  by  law  resulting  from  Defendants’  breaches  of  3 fiduciary duty, abuse of control, gross mismanagement, waste of corporate assets, and  4 unjust enrichment;  5 B. Directing Alphabet and Google to take all necessary actions to reform and  6 improve  its  corporate  governance  and  internal  procedures  to  comply  with  applicable  7 laws  and  to  protect  Alphabet  and  Google  and  its  shareholders  from  a  repeat  of  the  8 damaging  events  described  herein,  including,  but  not  limited  to,  putting  forward  for  9 shareholder vote, resolutions for amendments to the Company’s By‐Laws or Articles of  10 Incorporation  and  taking  such  other  action  as  may  be  necessary  to  place  before  11 shareholders for a vote of the following Corporate Governance Policies:  1. 12 a proposal to strengthen the Board’s supervision of operations and  13 develop  and  implement  procedures  for  greater  non‐controlling  shareholder  input  into  14 the policies and guidelines of the Board;  2. 15 a  proposal  to  strengthen  Google’s  oversight  of  its  procedures  16 regarding  the  termination  of  employees,  executives,  and  board  members  accused  of  17 sexual harassment and discrimination;   18 3. a  proposal  to  strengthen  internal  controls  concerning  sexual  4. a  proposal  to  eliminate  the  use  of  Non‐Disclosure  Agreements  at  19 harassment;  20 21 Google  so  that  current  and  former  employees  can  report  any  and  all  instances  of  22 suspected sexual harassment and discrimination without threat of legal action;  23 5. a  proposal  to  eliminate  the  use  of  mandatory  arbitration  for  24 employee  disputes  and  claims  of  wrongful  termination  and  sexual  harassment  and  25 discrimination;   26 6. a proposal requiring one vote for each share held, and eliminating  27 the current use of a dual class structure affording more than one vote per share; and  28 80  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT  7. 1 2 Alphabet to nominate at least three candidates for election to the Board; Extraordinary equitable and/or injunctive relief as pern1itted by law, C. 3 4 a provision to permit the non-management shareholders of equity, and state statutory provision s sued hereunder, including attaching, 5 impounding, imposing a constructive trust on , or otherwise restricting the proceeds of 6 Defendants' trading activities or their other assets so as to assure that Plaintiff on behalf 7 8 of Google has an effective remedy; D. Awarding to Google restitution from Defendants, and each of them, and 9 ordering disgorgement of all profits, benefits, and other compensation obtained by 10 Defendants; 11 E. Awarding punitive damages at the maximum amount permitted by law; 12 F. Awarding to Plaintiff the costs and disbursements of the action, including 13 14 reasonable attorneys' fees, accountants' fees, experts' fees, costs, and expenses; and G. Granting such other and further relief as the Court deems just and proper. 15 16 17 JURY TRIAL DEMAND Plaintiff, on behalf of Alphabet, hereby demands a trial by jury of all issues that are subject to adjudication by a trier of fact. 18 19 Respectfully submitted, Dated: January 9, 2019 BOTTINI & BOTTINI, INC. 20 Francis A. Bottini, Jr. (SBN 175783) Albert Y. Chang (SBN 296065) Yurt;;;;k;?/J:G 21 22 23 Francis A. Bottini, Jr. 24 7817 Ivanhoe Avenue, Suite 102 La Jolla, California 92037 Telephone: (858) 914-2001 Facsimile: (858) 914-2002 25 26 27 28 81 SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT   1 2 3 4 5                               RENNE PUBLIC LAW GROUP  Louise H. Renne (SBN 36508)  Ann M. Ravel (Of Counsel) (SBN 62139)  350 Sansome Street, Suite 300  San Francisco, CA 94101  Telephone:  (415) 848‐7200  Facsimile:  (415) 848‐7230  6 Counsel for Plaintiff  7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 82  SHAREHOLDER DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT  EXHIBIT A EXHIBIT A THE WALL STREET JOURNAL November 2, 2018 Google Harassment Allegations Spark Walkout DUBLIN V, FROM 101?: um PRESS: PETER NEWS - Mi?" Google Employees Stage Global Walkout Over Treatment of Sexual Harassment Organizers demand the tech giant remove mandatory-arbitration clauses from employee contracts By Douglas MacMillan, Ezequiel Minaya and Mengqi Sun Thousands of Google employees around the worl d staged a series of walkouts Thursday to protest a workplace culture that they say promotes and protects perpetrators of sexual harassment at the tech giant. The organizers of the wa lkout published a letter demanding the company change its poli cies to make it safer for women to report instances of sexual harassment and to bolster the transparency of those reports. "There are thousands of us, at every level of the company," the letter said . "And we' ve had enough. " The protests marked perhaps the largest display of employee activism concerning sexual harassment in a year in which the issue has come to the fore at companies world-wide. The events were also striking, given they occurTed at a company that has long been considered at the leading edge of efforts to empower and suppmt employees through generous perks and a permissive stance toward internal disagreements. Google more recently, though, has had to take steps to rein in workplace debate, whi ch at times led to lower productivity, the company said . Employee activism at Google is rising lately in response to a New York Times article last week on how the Alphabet fnc. aooa L -1.33% unit protected three senior executives over the past decade after they were accused of sexual mi sconduct, including one who received a $90 million exit package in 20 14. Google declined to comment on details in the Times story. Photos of the walkout flooded social media on Thursday, as Google employees filled the streets outside of offices from Mumbai to Dublin. The largest crowds were at Google's main campus in Mountain View, Calif., where thousands of employees encircled a stage. There, organizers of the wa lkout thanked the crowd and began leading chants. Many employees who gathered were quiet, continuing to check their phones and chat about work, but the atmosphere was punctuated by calls of "Time's up! " and "Not OK!" News helicopters hovered overhead. One employee told a story about how she was sexually harassed by her colleague, according to two people who heard the speech. The female employee described going to human resources to fil e a complaint, but was disappointed because HR didn ' t take action, the people said. Her manager told her they would fire the person responsible if that person was " less important" than her, the speaker said . In New York, throngs of Google employees fil ed out of glass doors at the company's offi ce in lower Manhattan. They gathered at nearby Hudson River Park and wielded signs with slogans such as ··worker's rights are women' s rights." Google employee Demma Rodriguez- 38 years old and one of the organ izers- told the crowd that workers wanted the tech company to live up to its potential as "the brain trust of the world." " I am fed up," she said through a bullhorn. " Every single person here has the tools to change Google." At a New York Times conference on Thursday, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said the company was trying to address employee concerns. "Moments like this show we didn ' t always get it right. We are listening to employees, which is why today is impo1tant," he said. "Words alone aren 't enough, you have to follow up with actions." He also said the company no longer makes payouts to employees who are accused of sexual harassment. In their letter, employees demanded Google remove its mandatory-arbitration clauses from employee contracts, a widespread but controversial practi ce that prevents U.S. workers from suing their employer in open court. Companies prefer arbitration for sexual-harassment claims because it tend s to lead to quicker settlements at a lower cost than class-action suits and may spare companies from bad publicity. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, corporations have come under greater public pressure to scrap their arbitration policies, said Steve Smith communications director for the Cali forn ia Labor Federation, an umbrella group for state labor unions. "Companies are definitely seeing that this is bad for their image," Mr. Smith said. Uber Technologies Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in the past year both stopped requiring arbitrationfor sexually related claims. The letter also asked that an employee representative be put on the board of directors and that the company's chief diversity officer repo1t to Mr. Pichai. It is becoming more common for chief diversity officers to rep01t directly to CEOs as companies try to stamp out harassment and make gender and racia l promotion and pay equ ity a priority. Apple Inc. and NBCU niversa l, a divi sion of Comcast Corp. , have chief diversity officers that report to the CEO rather than a chief people officer. It isn' t common for employees to be represented on boards. At Google-where employees this year have protested the company' s work with the Defense Department and the company' s controversial plan to explore a censored search engine for Chinese citizensemployee outrage over sexual-harassment policies has reached a boiling point. In New York, Laura Rokita-a 31-year-old software engineer who has worked at Google for three years- said she was surprised and angry after reading the recent New York Times article that described how the company has dealt with sexual-harassment claims. She said she walked out Thursday to incite changes at the company and to support colleagues. "When the article came out last week about some unfortunate events that happened in the past, a lot of Googlers were not happy about that," Ms. Rokita said . "We want to see a difference in the future." Thomas Kneeland, a Google software engineer, said there is a sense among employees that they work at a special place with a mission to change the world, he said. But he acknowledged there was "widespread fru stration and deep-seated anger" in the ranks. "We can be exceptional moving forward," Mr. Kneeland sa id . " It remains to be seen how." -Sarah E. Needleman contributed to this article. Goog le staff walk out over women's trealment - BBC News 11/1/2018 Home News Sport Weather i Shop Reel !i Travel Technology Google staff walk out over women's treatment Dave Lee North America tech nology reporter 57 minutes ago https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46054202 1/19 Google staff walk out over women's treatment - BBC News 11/1/2018 Staff at Google offices around the world are staging an unprecedented series of walkouts in protest at the company's treatment of women. The employees are demanding several key changes in how.sexual misconduct allegations are dealt with at the firm, including a call to end forced arbitration - a move which would make it possible for victims to sue. Google ch ief executive Sundar Pichai has told staff he supports their right to take the action. "I understand the anger and disappointment that many of you feel," he said in an all-staff email. "I feel it as well, and I am fully committed to making progress on an issue that has persisted for far too long in our society .. . and , yes, here at Google, too." A Twitter feed titled -@googlewalkout ....... -· .... has documented the movement at Goog le's international offices. ·' - ~~.... ~ , ~ Google staff in Singapore, Zurich, London, Tokyo, Berlin and New York were among those to take part. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46054202 2/19 11/1/2018 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46054202 Google staff walk out over women's treatment - BBC News 3/19 11/1/2018 Google staff walk out over women's treatment - BBC News TWIHER@TEDON PRiVACY/@GOOGLEVV.il.LKO UT VIA REUTERS https ://www.bbc.com/new s/technology-46054202 4/19 Google staff walk out over women's treatment - BBC News 11/1/2018 Web developer Sam Dutton who joined the walkout in London told the BBC: "We're walking out to support colleagues in any workplace that have suffered harassment and to ensure that perpetrators aren't protected or rewarded." ADV ERTISEMENT Discover the Benefits of QUAKER. , LEARN MORE What led to the walkout? An_gei:_~t ~h~ fir~ ha.~_ ~oiled ov~ r in the pas_!. week since t~~_ New York Ti_mes a ll_eg~d that one high profile executive received a $90m payout after he left the firm, despite what Google considered a "credible" allegation of sexual misconduct made against him. Andy Rubin , known as the "creator" of the Android mobile operating system , denies the allegation, https://www.bbc,com/news/technology-46054202 5/19 Google staff walk out over women's treatment - BBC News 11/1/2018 On Tuesday, another executive - this time from the company's X research lab - also resigned. Richard Devaul was said to have made unwanted advances towards a woman who was recently interviewed for a job in which she would have reported to Mr DeVaul. Mr Devaul has not commented since his resignation, but in the past ca lled the incident an "error of judgement". At least 48 other employees have been sacked for sexual harassment without receiving a payout, Mr Pichai told staff. He admitted the New York Times' report had been "difficult to read". Google's workforce 30.9°/o women globally in 2018 2 5. 5 °/o of leadership roles across the world taken by women in 2017 22 0/C/0 of the highest paid (top quarter) in the UK workforce are women Source: Google What do the employees want? Staff involved in Thursday's walkout will leave a note on their desks telling co lleagues: "I'm not at my desk because I'm walking out with other Googlers and contractors to protest sexual harassment, misconduct, lack of transparency, and a workplace culture that's not working for everyone." They are also making formal demands to Goog le's management. They are: 1. A commitment to end pay and opportunity inequality 2. A publicly disclosed sexual harassment transparency report 3. A clear, uniform, globally inclusive process for reporting sexua l misconduct safely and anonymously 4. The elevation of the chief diversity officer to answer directly to the CEO, and make recommendations directly to the board of directors https://www.bbc.com/news/lechnology-46054202 6/19 Google staff walk out over women's treatment - BBC News 11/1 /2018 5. The appointment of an employee representative to the board 6. An end to forced arbitration in cases of harassment and discrimination for all current and future employees What is forced arbitration? Forced arbitration, a common contract clause for Silicon Valley workers, demands any disputes are dealt with internally rather than through other methods such as the courts . Critics of forced arbitration say it is used to not only protect the reputations of both the company and the accused, but also to silence victims who are unable to appeal against decisions or take further action. "Employees have raised constructive ideas for how we can improve our policies and our processes going forward," said Mr Pichai in a statement on Wednesday evening. "We are taking in all their feedback so we can turn these ideas into action. " 11 Am_azon scrC:lpped 'sexist Al' tool • Uber's m essr_ea~ h es b~yond S~.l(iS_f!l - and ~i!icon Valley \ • Are y ou taking part in the walk out? Email haveyoursay@bbc .co.uk ·-- ·-·-······ . ' What else are Google employees angry about? Co-ordinated action of this scale is unprecedented at a Silicon Valley company, but follows a trend for increasingly impassioned employee activism. "Women are fed up, and I don't thin k it's just women ," said Prof Kellie McElhaney, from the Haas School of Business. "There are a lot of 'manbassadors' out there who are equally as fed up and using their positions of power and voice, which ca n cost Google money. I think you have to hit these compan ies where it hurts. "I think it empowers other Goog le offices when women and men are watching this happen , that they can do a similar action that's not just sitting by or making comments to one another or sharing emails." https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46054202 7/1 9 Google staff walk out over women's treatment - BBC News 11/1/201 8 In the past year, Google employees have spoken out strongly against the company's work with the US Department of Defense, as well as plans to re-enter the Chinese market with a search product. The Tech Workers Coalition , a San Francisco-based advocacy group, said the day's dispute was just one of several tech compan ies need to address. "We stand in solidarity with the Google workers," a spokesperson for the group said. https ://www.bbc.com/new s/technology-46 054202 8/ 19 Google staff walk out over women's treatment - BBC News 11 /1/2018 "It's clear the executives won't do this for us so we're taking matters into our own hands." • Goog!e. exe..c~tive l ~aves ~f~~r. sexu.al h~rassrn_e.n~ ~ l~LI!) • Does Sil_ic.on Valleyhave a §e~js.~ pro~l~rn? Are y o u a Google employee who is taking part in industrial action? Tell us about your ex periences by email ing h~y_e.x,~!_~C!Y_@~P..C._:_~g_:_uk_ Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: • WhatsApp: +44 7555 173285 • Tweet: @~.l?~-ti~ye'(~_urSay_ • Send pictures/video to yourpics@bbc.co.uk . . . ·-·. ·- • Text an SMS or MMS to 61124 or +44 7624 800 100 • Please read our ~~rm_~ & con~_~t!.9.r:!S and p_riyac;y_ poli~y ~ Or use the form below: Name Your E-mail address (required) Town & Country Your telephone number Comments (required) https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46054202 9/19 11/1/2018 Google Staffers Walk Out Over Sexual Harassment Scandals I Time TIME Google Staffers Are Walking Out Over Sexual Harassment Scandals. Here's What to Know Google employees at its European headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, join others from around the world walking out of the ir offices in protest over claims of sexual harassment, gender inequality and systemic racism at the tech giant. Niall Carson - PA Images-PA Im ages via Getty Images By MAHITA GAJANAN 9:30 AM EDT Thousands of Google staffers across the world are walking off the job Thursday in protest of the tech giant's handling of sexual misconduct at the company. The protest, called "Walkout for Real Change," comes after a New York Times report that Google gave Android creator Andy Rubin a $90 million severance fee in 2014 when he left the company, all while hiding t hat he had been accused of sexual misconduct - a claim the company found to be credible following an investigation. Rubin has denied the allegation. http://time.com/5441 6 18/google-wal kout-over-sexual-harassmenU 1/3 11/1/2018 Google Staffers Walk Out Over Sexual Harassment Scandals I Time Google workers, from Singapore to Switzerland, started walking out of the office at 11: 10 a.m. in their respective time zones. Here's what to know about the Google protest. Google employees are demanding the company change how it deals with sexual misconduct claims Demands from staffers include an end to forced arbitration in harassment and discrimination cases, a commitment to ending pay inequality, a public sexual harassment transparency report and establishing a clear process for reporting sexual misconduct anonymously. Congresswoman Jackie Spier, who represents California's 14th District, shared her support for those who wa lked out in a tweet using the #MeToo hashtag. The protest kicked off in Singapore and is continuing around the world Google employees were seen walking out in Singapore and across Europe, including in London, Dublin, Berlin and Zurich. Google employees have left flyers explaining why they're walking out at their empty desks The flyers say, "I'm not at my desk because I'm walking out in solidarity with other Googlers and contractors to protest sexual harassment, misconduct, lack of transparency, and a workplace culture that's not working for everyone. I'll be back at my desk later." Google leadership has apologized Google CEO Sundar Pichai has apologized for the company's "past actions," according to an email sent to employees on Tuesday. http://time.com/544 1618/google-walkout-over-sexual-harassmenU 2/3 11/1/2018 Google Staffers Walk Out Over Sexual Harassment Scandals I Time "I understand the anger and disappointment that many of yo u fe el," he wrote. "I feel it as well, and I am fully committed to making progress on an iss ue that has persisted for far too long in our society and, yes, here at Google, too." Pichai said in an email last week that Google had fired 48 employees , including 13 senior manage rs, for sexual harassment without giving th em seve rance pay. Write to Mahita Gajanan at mahita.gajanan @time.com. http://time.com/5441618/google-walkout-over-sexual-harassment/ 3/3 111112018 Google employees walk out to protest treatment of women - The Washington Post [;')°he Washington Post National Google employees walk out to protest treatment of women By Michael Liedtke I AP November 1at1:40 PM SAN FRANCISCO - Carrying signs with messages such as "Don't be evil," several hundred Google employees around the world briefly walked off the job Thursday in a protest against what they said is the tech company's mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations against executives. Employees staged walkouts at offices from Tokyo and Singapore to London and New York, with more expected to do so in California later in the day, reflecting a growing #MeToo-style backlash among women against frat-house misbehavior in heavily male-dominated Silicon Valley. In Dublin, organizers used megaphones to address the crowd of men and women to express their support for victims of sexual harassment. Other workers shied away from the media spotlight, with people gathering instead indoors, in packed conference rooms or lobbies, to show their solidarity with abuse victims. Protesters in New York carried signs with such messages as "Not OK Google" and "Don't Be Evil" - a mocking reference to Google's one-time motto. Many demonstrators cited fears about their job security in refusing to talk, but one woman who did speak, designer Leeung Li Jo, said in New York that she wanted to show support for the #MeToo movement "so we can have a comfortable working environment." "Time is up on sexual harassment, time is up on systemic racism, time is up on abuses of power. Enough is enough," organizer Vicki Tardif Holland shouted, her voice hoarse, at a gathering of about 300 people in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Thursday's walkout could signal that a significant number of the 94,000 employees working for Google and its corporate parent Alphabet Inc. remain unconvinced that the company is doing enough to adhere to Alphabet's own advice to employees in its corporate code of conduct: "Do the right thing." The organizers said Google has publicly championed diversity and inclusion but hasn't done enough to put words into action. In an unsigned statement from organizers, the Google protesters called for an end to forced arbitration in harassment and discrimination cases, a practice that requires employees to give up their right to sue https:flwww.washingtonpost.comfnational/google-employees-to-walk-out-to-protest-treatment-of-women/2018111101I4bd 21 d86-dd94-11 e8-8bac-bfe01 f... 1/3 11/1/2018 Google employees walk out to protest treatment of women - The Washington Post and often includes confidentiality agreements. They also want Google to commit to ending pay inequity, issue a report on sexual harassment inside the company and adopt a clearer process for reporting complaints. The Google protest unfolded a week after a New York Times story detailed allegations of sexual misconduct about the creator of Google's Android software, Andy Rubin. The report said Rubin received a $90 million severance package in 2014 after Google concluded the sexual misconduct allegations against him were credible. Rubin denied the allegations in a tweet . The same story also disclosed allegations of sexual misconduct against other executives, including Richard DeVaul, a director at the Google-affiliated lab that created such projects as self-drivin g cars and internet-beaming balloons. DeVaul had remained at the "X" lab after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced about him a few years ago, but he resigned Tuesday without severance, Google said. Google CEO Sundar Pichai apologized for the company's "past actions" in an email sent to employees Tuesday. "I understand the anger and disappointment that many of you feel," Pichai wrote. "I feel it as well, and I am fully committed to making progress on an issue that has persisted for far too long in our society ... and, yes, here at Google, too." The email didn't mention the reported incidents involving Rubin, DeVaul or anyone else at Google, but Picha i didn't dispute anything in the Times story. Pichai indicated that Google wouldn't interfere with protest plans and would ensure that "you have the support you need." In an email last week, Pichai and Eileen Naughton, Google's executive in charge of personnel issues, sought to reassure employees that the company had cracked down on sexual misconduct since Rubin's departure four years ago. Among other things, Pichai and Naughton said Google had fired 48 employees , including 13 senior managers, for sexual harassment in recent years without giving any of them severance packages. The latest complaints from employees are part of a wider discontent at Google and other Silicon Valley companies, though much of the complaints so far have been aired not at public protests but at company town halls, internal message boards and petitions that got leaked. http s ://www.washingtonpost.com/national/google-employees-to-walk-out-to-protest-treatment-of-women/2018/11 /01 /4bd21 d86-dd94-11eB-Bbac-bfeO1 f... 2/3 11/1/2018 Google employees walk out to protest treatment of women - The Washington Post In August, more than 1,000 Google employees signed a letter protesting the company's plan to build a search engine that would comply with Chinese censorship rules. Earlier, thousands signed a petition asking Google to cancel an artificial-intelligence project to help the Pentagon improve the targeting of drone strikes. Google later said it won't renew the contract, according to published reports. A Silicon Valley congresswoman tweeted her support of the Google walkout using the #MeToo hashtag that has become a battle cry for women fighting sexual misconduct. "Why do they think it's OK to reward perpetrators & further violate victims?" asked Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier, who represents a well-to-do district where many of Google's employees live. AP Technology Writer Mae Anderson in New York, Frank Bajak in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Matt O'Brien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Thank.you. Your subscription supports journalism t hat matters. hltps://www.washingtonpost.com/national/google-employees-to-w alk-out-to-pro tesl-treatment-of-women/201 8/11 /01/4bd21 d86-dd94-11 e8-8bac-bfe01f... 313 Google Employees Begin Global Walkout To Protest Company's Treatment Of Women : NPR 11/1 /2018 fiiiM•r NPR Station There are at least three stations nearby BUSINESS NEWSCAST LIVE RADIO SHOWS Google Employees Begin Global Walkout lo Protest Company's Treatment Of Women LI STEN · 3:17 -.. / .... -· \ QUEUE ,/Download '\ November 1, 2018 · 7:10 AM ET g EMILY SULLIVAN LAUREL WAMSLEY People participate in a walkout at the Google office in Zurich on Thursday. @tedonprivacy via Reuters Updated at 12:15 p.m. ET Google employees worldwide are walking off the job to protest the company's treatment of women and its handling of sexual assault cases. https ://www.npr.org/2018/11 /01 /662851489/google-employees-plan-global-walkout-to-protest-companys-treatment-of-women 1/11 Google Employees Begin Global Walkout To Protest Company's Treatment Of Women : NPR . 11/1/2018 Organizers say they expect more than a thousand employees vrul walk out of Google offices worldwide at 11:10 a.m. in each time zone on Thursday. Hundreds of employees have walked out in Singapore, Zurich, London, Dublin, and New York City, filling nearby streets, sidewalks and parks. "We've always been told that Google is a leading-edge company, that our culture is something really special. And in that way we totally have the space to walk out and do this today," Clai re Stapleton, a New York-based marketing manager for YouTube and one of the walkout's core organizers. "But we also see some very real changes that need to happen." She said the walkout isn'tjust about women, but also people of color, contractors, and others at the company who have experienced "feeling diminished or disrespected, have experienced feeling unsafe." Organizers are calling for an end to forced arbitration, a commitment from the company to end pay and opportunity inequity, a publicly disclosed sexual harassment transparency report, and a safe and anonymous process for reporting sexual misconduct at Google. Articl e co ntinues afte r sponsorship The employee protest comes a week after The New York Times published an extensive report on sexual harassment at the company. Andy Rubin, the creator of the Android software operating system, was accused by a female colleague of coercing her to perform oral sex on him in 2013, the Times reports. https://www.npr.org/2018/11 /01/662851489/google-employees-planiJlobal-walkout-to-protest-companys-treatment-of-women 211 1 Google Employees Begin Global Walkout To Protest Company's Treatment Of Women : NPR 11/1/2018 - t"' - · ->· ·- • " . . ' -. ·.#::,) Karen O'Connell :l .;J @karenmaryo Very proud to participate in the #googlewalkout today showing solidarity with my colleagues, fighting for equality and demanding real change ! 5 :36 AM - Nov 1, 2018 · Dublin City, Ireland 380 121 people are talking about this TicToc by Bloomberg @tictoc Google employees at the company's U.K. headquarters are staging a walkout to protest how the tech giant has handled sexual harassment 6 :55 AM - Nov 1, 2018 114 73 people are talking about this Google reportedly found the allegation credible, asked for his resignation and gave him an exit package worth $90 million. The company did not mention the allegations in the announcement of his departure. Rubin has tweeted, "These false allegations are part of a smear campaign." 1. An end to Forc:OO Arbitration In cases of haraasment and discriminaUon. 2. A commitment lo end pay and opportunity inequity. 3. A publicly disclosed sexual harassment transparency report. 4, A clear, uniform, globally inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously. 5. Elevate the Chief Diversity Officer to answer directly to the CEO and make recommendations directly to the Board of Directors. In addition, appoint an Employee Representative to the Bo111d. Google Walkout For Real Change @Goog leWalkout https :Jtwww.npr.org/2018/11 /01 /662851 489/google-employees-plan-global-walkout-to-protest-companys-treatment-of-women 3/11 Google Employees Begin Global Walkout To Protest Company's Treatment Of Women : NPR 11/1/2018 We, Google employees and contractors, will walkout on November 1 at 11 :10am to demand these five real changes. #googlewalkout 6:19 PM- Oct 31 , 2018 1,473 people are talking about this 2 ,580 "As Google workers, we were disgusted by the details of the recent New York Times article, which provided the latest example of a culture of complicity, dismissiveness, and support for perpetrators in the face of sexual harassment, misconduct, and abuse of power," organizers told NPR in an emailed statement. "For every story in the New York Times, there are thousands more, at every level of the company. Most have not been told." First #GoogleWalkout photo coming straight from our office in Singapore where it's 11/1 just after 12p! pic.twitter.com/Ctv3xLEOaH - Google Walkout For Real Change {@GoogleWalkout) November 1, 2018 Since the Times report, the company's leadership is dealing with an agitated workforce, according to multiple reports. "While Google has championed the language of diversity and inclusion, substantive actions to address systemic racism, increase equity, and stop sexual harassment have been few and far between," organizers say. Some demands relate directly to Google's workforce gender makeup: Only 31 percent of its global workforce and just over a quarter of its executives are women. Last year, the federal government sued Google, a government contractor, to release compensation data in order to ensure the company was obeying equal opportunity laws. Others relate to the company's treatment of sexual harassment. Currently, the company requires employees to waive their right to sue in cases of sexual harassment and often includes confidentiality agreements, the Times reports. '4' JBD ~ @ rakyll Tomorrow I will be at the #GoogleWalkout and ask Andy Rubin to release his records and Google to hire an independent investigator. 9 :25 PM - Oct 31, 2018 123 25 people are talking about this Organizers are also asking for "a clear, uniform, globally inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously. " https:/lwww.npr.org/2018/11/0 1/66285 1489/google-employees-plan-global-walkout-to-protest-companys-treatment-of-women 4/11 Google Employees Begin Global Walkout To Protest Company's Treatment Of Women: NPR 11/1/2018 They have also asked that the company's chief diversity officer answer directly to the CEO and make recommendations directly to the Board of Directors - and that the company add an employee representative to the board. ALL TECH CONSIDERED How A Female Engineer Built A Public Case Against A Sexual Harasser In Silicon Valley "This is part of a growing movement, not just in tech, but across the country, including teachers, fast food workers, and others who are using their strength in numbers to make real change," organizers said. Employees who walk out will display a poster on their desk that reads, "Hi. I'm not at my desk because I'm walking out in solidarity with other Googlers and contractors to protest sexual harassment, misconduct, lack of transparency, and a workplace culture that's not working for everyone. I'll be back at my desk later." Stapleton, one of the walkout's organizers in New York, said she is hopeful that Google can change its culture. She said the past week had actually restored her faith in the company, as she worked together with colleagues on a wide spectrum of issues. "We h ave tremendous allies," she said. "I mean, we immediately took the name 'women' out of the walkout because we had so much support from men. And we wanted this to feel really inclusive, and for this to be about a bigger thing than one executive payout." "I think if change can happen anywhere I hope it's here," she said. "But we'll see." goog le Sign Up For The Business Newsletter Explo re trends in m oney, work and the economy, sent weekly. r-----· What's your e mail? i SUBSCRIBE By subscribing, you agree to NPR's terms of use and p rivacy policy. More Stories From NPR https://www.npr.org/2018/11 /01 /66285 1489/google-employees-plan-global-walkout-to-protest-companys-treatment-of-women 5/11 Google employee walkout: Engineers and other workers plan to walk off the job today at 11 :10 a.m. over sexual harassment scandals - C .. . 11 /1/201 8 Log In CBS N ews I CBS Evenin y New s I CBS l"his Morning I 48 Hours I 60 Minutos I Sunday Morning I Face The N• tion I CBSN Original s Markets Mon ey Wo1k · Small Business Retirement l Tech Trenmi119 Trump chooses border security as rally focus ~ Mr. Rubin left Goo gt~ '..J, ,• ... , ., . 1 The decision to b ecom e a whis tle blower Midterms: Both parties bring out the big guns C BSIAP .\',11•cmber I , 2018. B:r)8AM Watch CBSN Live Google walkout: Employees protest over sexual harassment scandals Share I h~ Tweet I \'.S Reddit I ;r Flipboard I @ Email Last Updated Nov 1, 2 018 11:4 8 AM EDT Google engineers a nd other workers at the internet giant's offices a round the world walked off the job Thursday m orning t o protest its lenient treatme nt of executives a ccused o f s exual m isconduct. It is the latest express ion of a backlash agains t m any m en's m istreatme nt of female employees across the bus iness landscape and in politics. In Silicon Valley, women als o are becoming fe d up wit h the m ale-dominat ed composit ion of the technology industry's workforce - a glar ing imbalance that cri tics say fosters ui1savo1y behavior akin to a college fraternity house. Walkouts are occurr ing at Google offices around t he world, including Dublin and Singapore, accord ing to posts on social medi a. In New York City, "tho usa nds" j oi ned the walkout, according to a Twitter account under the na me of the Google protest, Google W alkout for Rea l Change. Police are tiying to figure out what happened to two Saudi sisters whose bodies were found bound togethe r along the Hudson River shoreline Saudi sisters found dead & bound together with dud tape on bank of Hudson River Seve re weather slams southern U.S. ind uding tornadoes and heavy flooding Lion Air crash: Blad< box recovered from Indonesia crash Trump launches final midterm push to encourage base to go out and vote ®CBSN Watch Now > CBS News. Alwoys CY.I. Big crowd he re now at Google Dubli n for the #GoogleWalkout pi c.twitter.com/ hvRgPHX27D - Will Goodbody (@willgoodbody) Novem ber 1, 2018 According to Google Walko ut for Real Change, the protesters' goals include several policy changes at the tech firm, including "a pub licly dis closed sexual harassment transparency repo11:" and "a commitm ent to end pay and opportunity inequ ity." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-walkout-employees-protest-over-sexual-harassment-scandals/ 1/5 i . i, Google employee walkout: Engineers and other workers plan to walk off the job today at 11 : 10 a.m. over sexual harassment scandals - C ... 11/1/2018 We, Google employees and contractors, wi ll walkout on November 1 at 11:10am to demand these five real changes. #googlewalkout pic.twit ter.C'o m/ amgTxlMo Rubin derided th e Times s tory article as inaccurat e a nd denied the allegations in a tweet. Market Data Q Enter Ticker Symbol or Company Name NASDAQ: Noi• 0 1. ;.w 1R 1.~ 00 7,360 7 ,320 10AM 12PM Syml>o/ DOW 2PM 4PM Last Cha11yc % Change 25,313.20 +197.44 +0.79'/'o NASDAQ 7,415.44 +109.54 +1 .50% S&P 500 2,733.96 +0.82% +22.22 Go ogle slaff stage a walkoul al the company's UK headquarlers in London on November 1, 2018 as part of a global campaign over lhe U S lech gianl's handling of sexual harassmenl. I TOLGA AKMEN I AFP/GETTY IMAGES The s ame story also disclosed allegations of sexual m isconduct of other executives, including Richard DeVaul , a director at the same Google-affiliated lab that created far-flun g projects such as self-d riving cars and internet-beaming balloons. DeVaul had remained at t he "X" lab after allegations of sexual misconduct s urfaced about him a few years ago, but he resigned Tuesday without severance, Google confirmed Wednesday. Google CEO Sundar Pichai apologized for th e company's "past actions" in an email sent to employees Tuesday. "I understand the a nger and disappointment that many of you fee l," Pichai wrote. "I feel it as well, and I am fully committed to making progress on an issue that has persisted for far too long in our society. and, yes, here at Google, too." Latest Features Pichai also said an earlier apology fo r its handling of sexual harassment claims didn't go far enough, and that the company will take a "harder line." He expressed support for the workers who plan to walk off the job in protest. U.S. farmers are missing out on America's boom Thousands are walking out of Google NYC # GoogleWalkout pic.twittcr.com/7FrhpKk.Kcd Investors reboot in November after worst October in 7 years - Google Walkout For Real Change (@Google Walkout) November 1, 2018 ~",;; •t•i.ilf•~ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-walkout-employees-protest-over-sexual-harassment-scandals/ How lega l immigrants can claim U.S. tax credits 215 11/112018 Google employee walkout: Engineers and olher workers plan to walk off the job today at 11 :10 a.m. over sexual harassment scandals - C ... The email didn't m ention the reported incidents involvi ng Rubin, DeVaul or anyone else, but Pichai didn't dis pute a nyth ing in the Times story. ·M; ~ .. Google walkout: Employees protest ove r sexua l harassment scandals 48 employees fired In a n email last week, Pichai and Eileen Naughton, Google's executive in charge of pers onnel issues, sought to reassure workers that the company had cracked down on sexual misconduct s ince Rubin's departure four years ago. Among other things, Pichai and Naughton disclosed that Google had fired 48 employees, including 13 senior managers, for "sexual harassm ent" in recent years without givi ng any of them severance packages. ~~~-- . : , 711 ~ ~I A bummer fo r Canada's legal pot market: Weed shortages Marl 1ii -:> rlirortl'"\r -:.t tho c-:.mo r:""crlo--:>ffdi-:.torl 1-:.h th-:.t rro-:.torl f-:.r~f1 1 1ncr nrl'"\iortc c11rh f -:>c in https ://www.ibtimes .co .u k/google-employees-wa lkout-protest-culture-sexual-harassment-1666838 1/2 Google employees walkout in protest at culture of sexual harassment 11/ 1/2018 allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced about him a few years ago, but he resigned Tuesday witho ut severance, Google confirmed W ednesday. Goog le CEO Sundar Pichai apologised for the company's "past actions" in an email sent to employees Tuesday. "I under stand the anger and disappointment that many of you feel," Pichai wrote. "I feel it as we ll, and I am fully committed to making progress on an issue that has persist ed for far too long in our society. and, yes, here at Google, too." The e mail didn't mention the r eported incidents involving Rubin, DeVaul or anyone else, but Pichai didn't dispute anything in the Times st ory. In an email last week, Pichai and Eileen Naughton, Google's executive in charge of personnel issues, sought to reassure workers that the company had cracked down on sexual misconduct since Rubin's departure four years ago. Among other things, Pichai and Naughton disclosed that Google had fired 48 employees, including 1 3 senior managers, for "sexual harassment" in recent years without giving any of them severance packages. But Thursday's workout could signal that a significant number of the 94,000 employees working for Google and its co rporate parent Alphabet Inc. remained unconvinced t he company is doing enough t o adhere to Alphabet's own edict urging all employees t o "do the right t hing." A Silicon Valley congr esswoman tweet ed her support of th e Google w alkout using the "metoo" hashtag th at has become a battl e cry for women fighting sexual misconduct. "Why do they think it's O K to rew ard perpetrators & further viol at e victims?" asked Rep. Jacki e Speier, who represents an afflu ent dist r ict where many of Google's employees live. I Re lat ed topics : ,-1.'; f Google i·' ' in hltps ://www.ibtimes.co. uk/google·employees-walkout-protest-culture-sexual-harassment-1666838 212 What the Google employees are demanding - CNN 11/1/2018 What the Google employees are demanding By Kaya Yurieff, CNN Business Upda ted 12:52 PM ET, Thu Novembe r 1, 2018 New York (CNN Business) - Google employees around the world are calling for sweeping changes in how the company handles sexual harassment and discrimination. Employees walked out of their offices on Thursday in a coordinated protest over what they call a "destructive culture" at the company. They are demanding five main changes, according to a post on an lnstagram account dedicated to the walkout. Google employees say they want: An end to forced arbitration in harassment and discrimination cases; a commitment to end pay and opportunity inequity; a sexual harassment transparency report disclosed to the public; a clear inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously; and for the chief diversity officer to repo rt directly to the CEO and make recommendations to the board of directors, as well as the appointment of an employee representative to the board. The walkout was prompted by a New York Times investigation last week, which detailed years of sexual harassment allegations. multimillion-dollar severance packages for executives accused of misconduct, and little transparency over the cases. In an op-ed for the Cut on Thursday, the seven core organizers said Google employees "demand an end to the sexual harassment, discrimination, and the systemic racism that fuel this destructive c ulture." "The (New York Times] article provided a narrow window into a culture we. as Google employees. know well. These stories are our stories. We share them in hushed tones to trusted peers. friends. and partners. There are thousands of us, at every level of the company. And we've had enough," they wrote. By using ,tl1is site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and our Term s of Use. https :/lwww.cnn.com/2018/11 /01/tech/google-walkout-demands/index .html 1/2 What the Google employees are demanding - CNN 11f1f2018 googlew... 299 followers 1. An end to Forced Arbitration in cases of harassment and discrimination. 2. A commitment to end pay and opportunity inequity. 3. A publicly disclosed sexual harassment transparency report. 4. A clear, uniform, globally Inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously. 5. Elevate the Chief Diversity Officer to answer directly to the CEO and make recommendations directly to the Board ol Directors. In addition, appoint an Employee Representative to the Board. View More on lnstag ram 55 likes googlewalkout We, Goog le employees and contractors, will walkout on November 1 at 11 :1 Oam to demand these five rea l changes. #googlewalkout view all comments It also included more details about their five demands to company leadership. For example, the organizers said Google should ensure there are women of color at all levels of the company. "This must be accompanied by transparent data on the gender, race and et hnicity compensation gap, across both level and years of industry experience, accessible to all Google and Alphabet employees and contractors, they added . 11 Meanwhile, the public sexual harassment transparency report should include information such as the number of harassment claims at the company over time and in which product area, as well as any exit packages and their value. The organizers also said the current process for reporting sexual misconduct is not working. 11 HRs' performance is assessed by senior management and directors, forcing them to put management's interests ahead of employees reporting harassment and discrimination, they wrote. 11 On Thursday, Google employees around the world walked out of their offices at 11:10 a.m. local time. Demonstrations were occurring in various cities including New York, London, Singapore, Berlin, Tokyo a nd Zuri ch. https:ffwww.cnn.cornf201Bf11 fO1 ftechfgoogle-walkout-demandslindex.html 2f2 #Me Too: Google workers across the world walk out over treatment of women amid sexual misconduct claims - Times of India 11/ 112018 Printed from TIIE TI~·IES f)F I~DIA #MeToo: Google workers across the world walk out over treatment of women amid sexual misconduct claims PTI I Nov 1, 2018, 08.36 PM IST LONDON/ NEW DELHI: Hundreds of employees at Google offices around the world, including in India, Thursday staged an unprecedented series of walkouts in protest at the company's treatment of women and lenient treatment of senior executives accused of sexual misconduct. The demonstrations, dubbed "Google Walkout," follow an outcry over a New York Times investigation that detailed years of sexual harassment allegations, multimillion-dollar severance pa ckages for accused executives, and a lack of transparency over the cases. The employees are demanding several key changes in how sexual misconduct allegations are dealt with at the technology giant, including a call to end forced arbitration - a move which would make it possible for victims to sue. Forced arbitration, a common contract clause for Silicon Valley employees, demands any disputes are dealt with internally rather than through other methods such as the courts. Unequal pay and a lack of gender representation were also said to be among employees' concerns as they staged the action. Google chief executive Sundar Pichai has told staff he supports their right to protest. "Yesterday, we let Googlers know that we are aware of the activities planned for Thursday and that employees will have the https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/metoo-google-workers-across-the-world-walk-out-over-treatment-of-women-amid-sexual-misconduct-claims/articleshowprinU66464567.cms 114 11 /1/2018 #Me Too: Google workers across the world walk out over treatment of women amid sexual misconduct claims - Times of India support they need if they wish to participate," the Indian-American top executive said. Demonstrations at the company's offices around the world began at 11:10 am in Tokyo and took place at the same time in other time zones. A photo from the Singapore hub showed at least 100 staff protesting. When contacted a Google spokesperson confirmed to PTI that 150 employees participated in the walkout in India. The employees were from Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Mumbai offices. Overall, Google has about 2,000 people across four offices in India (Hyderabad, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore). A Google spokesman in Singapore said he could not provide details on how many people took part in the walkouts at those two offices, which each have more than 1,000 employees. In Europe, a small group of Google employees wa lk out at the company's London headquarters. A larger protest was reported in Zurich, Switzerland. Hoi Lam, a staff developer advocate at one of Google's London offices, posted a photo on Twitter of workers gathered together. He wrote: "The stories shared at Google London Walkout are heartbreaking." In t he United States, there are hundreds of posts on social media using the hashtag #googlewalkout. Google's management has been struggling to deal with the backlash from The New York Times investigation. Top executives have assured employees that the company is "dead serious about making sure we provide a safe and inclusive workplace" in an e-mail sent shortly after the Times investigation was published last week. At least 48 other employees have been sacked for sexual harassment without receiving a payout, Pichai has informed Google staff. He admitted the New York Times' report had been "difficult to read". https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/metoo-google-workers-across-the-world-walk-out-over-treatment-of-women-amid-sexual-misconduct-claims/articleshowprinl/66464567.cms 2/4 11/112018 #MeToo: Google workers across the world walk out over treatment of women amid sexual misconduct claims - Times of India "Employees have raised constructive ideas for how we can improve our policies and our processes going forward," said Pichai in his latest statement. "We are taking in all their feedback so we can turn these ideas into action," the Google CEO said. In a press release, organisers of the global walkout said: "As Google workers, we were disgusted by the details of the recent New York Times article, which provided the latest example of a culture of complicity, dismissiveness, and support for perpetrators in the face of sexual harassment, misconduct, and abuse of power. According to the Times report, the company stayed silent about sexual misconduct allegations against three executives over the past decade, including Android creator Andy Rubin , who exited the company in 2014. Tech news site The Information previously reported that Google had investigated Rubin for an inappropriate relationship while at the company. But the Times uncovered new details, including a reported $90 million exit package that Rubin is said to have been granted when he departed the company. He was allowed to go despite what Google considered a "credible" allegation of sexual misconduct made against him, according to the report. Sam Singer, a lawyer for Rubin, disputed the allegations in the Times report. "None of the allegations made about Mr. Rubin are true," he said in a statement, calling them "demonstrably false." Earlier this week, Richard DeVaul, a director of Google X, resigned from his position. The Times report claimed he had sexually harassed a job applicant. DeVaul is leaving without any exit package, CNN reported, quoting a person familiar with the matter as saying. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.comlindialmetoo-google-workers-across-the-world-walk-out-over-treatment-of-women-amid-sexual-misconduct-claimslarticleshowprinl/66464567.cms 3/4 11/1/2018 #MeToo: Google workers across the world walk out over treatment of women amid sexual misconduct claims - Times of India In a statement to the Times, Devaul said he was sorry for the "error of judgement." The employees are also making formal demands to Google's management, including a commitment to end pay and opportunity inequality, a clear, uniform, globally inclusive process for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously, the appointment of an employee representative to the board and an end to forced arbitration in cases of harassment and discrimination for all current and future employees. Updated: TOl's ROlicy on covering #MeToo https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/metoo-google-workers-across-the-world-walk-out-over-treatment-of-women-amid-sexual-misconduct-claims/articleshowprinU66464567.cms 4/4 ·i111/2018 Google Faces Internal Backlash Over Handling of Sexual Harassment - The New York Times Google Faces Internal Backlash Over Handling ofSexual Harassment Oct. 31, 2018 SAN FRANCISCO - Google is struggling to contain a growing internal backlash over its handling of sexual harassment and its workplace culture. Over the past week, Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive, and Larry Page, a co-founder of Google and the chief executive of its parent company, Alphabet, have taken multiple steps to calm its agitated 94,000-person work force. The anger arose after The New York Times revealed last week that Google had paid millions of dollars in exit packages to male executives accused of harassment and stayed silent about their transgressions. Google later said it had fired 48 people for sexual harassment over the last two years; none received an exit package. Mr. Page and Mr. Pichai also issued apologies, with Mr. Pichai later saying his initial statement "wasn't enough" and apologizing again. And one of the executives whom Alphabet continued employing after he was accused of harassment resigned on Tuesday and did not obtain an exit package. But employees' dissatisfaction has not subsided. On Thursday, more than 1,500 - most of them women - plan to walk out of almost two dozen company offices around the world to protest the treatment, organizers said. "We don't want to feel that we're unequal or we're not respected anymore," said Claire Stapleton, 33, a product marketing manager at Google's YouTube who helped call for the walkout. "Google's famous for its culture. But in reality we're not even meeting the basics of respect, justice and fairness for every single person here." [Google employees around the globe are walking out of their offices in protest.] The walkout is a culmination of simmering tensions at a time when Silicon Valley workers have become more activist. Tech employees once moved in lock step with their leaders to make products that they said would change the world, but the industry has come under the spotlight for causing harm rather than good. That has led engineers, data scientists and others to increasingly question how their work is being used. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31/tech nology/google-sexual-harassment-walkout. html 1/4 : 11/ 1/2018 Google Faces Internal Backlash Over Handling of Sexual Harassment - The New York Times Employees at Microsoft and Amazon recently protested the companies' work with federal immigration authorities when migrant children were being separated from their families at the Mexican border. And some employees at Facebook have complained that the social network is intolerant of different political perspectives. Nowhere has the tech employee activism been more evident than at Google. Workers have pushed back this year against the company's artificial intelligence work with the Pentagon, saying their work shouldn't be used for warfare. Google eventually decided not to ren ew its contract with the Pentagon. Employees also rebuked Mr. Pichai and other executives for developing a search engine for China that would censor results. Since then, Google has not moved forward on a search product for China. Google declined to comment. The treatment of female employees has been an especially charged topic at Google. Just 31 percent of its global work force and about 26 percent of its executives are women. Google has also been sued by former employees and the Department of Labor, which claim that it underpaid women; the company has said it does not have a wage gap between male and female employees. Google workers said other incidents had raised questions about the company's attitude toward women. Last year, one engineer, James Damore, argued in an internal document that women were biologically less adept at engineering and that "personality differences" explained the shortage of female leaders at the company. After an outcry, Google executives rejected the memo and fired Mr. Damore. https://www.nytimes.com/20 18/10/31/technology/google-sexual-harassment-walkout.html 214 11/1/2018 Google Faces Internal Backlash Over Handling of Sexual Harassment - The New York limes Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive, apologized for the handling of harassment claims and later said his initial statement "wasn't enough." Jim Wilson/The New York Times At a staff meeting last year, Google's founders, Mr. Page and Sergey Brin, also struggled to answer a question about who their female role models were, said two employees who saw a video of the meeting. Mr. Brin tried to recall the name of a woman he had recently met at a company event who had impressed him, the people said. Mr. Page eventually reminded Mr. Brin that the woman's name was Gloria Steinem, the feminist writer. Mr. Page said his hero was Ruth Porat, the chief financial officer of Google and Alphabet, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. Last week, The Times reported that Google had paid Andy Rubin, the creator of the Android mobile software, a $90 million exit package even after the company concluded that a harassment claim against him was credible. (Mr. Rubin has denied any misconduct and has said the report of his compensation is a "wild exaggeration.") Google also paid millions of dollars in an exit package to another executive who was accused of harassment, and continued employing a third despite a harassment claim. Google's workers were outraged. They immediately raised questions at a staff meeting with executives last Thursday about how the company approaches sexual harassment. "I know this is really an exceptionally painful story for some of you, and I'm really sorry for that," Mr. Page said at the time. The meeting did little to quell the anger. On Friday, Ms. Stapleton said, she created an internal mailing list to organize a walkout. More than 200 employees joined over the weekend, she said, and the numbers have since grown to more than 1,500. On Tuesday, Richard Devaul, one of the Alphabet executives who The Times revealed was accused of harassment, resigned from the company. He did not receive an exit package, according to a company spokeswoman. That same day, Mr. Pichai sent an apologetic email to employees saying he would support this week's protest. He said that some workers had already raised constructive ideas of how to improve policies around harassment and that he hoped to "turn these ideas into action," according to the email, which was obtained by The Times. Employees organizing the walkout have called on Google to end the practice of private arbitration - which requires people to waive their right to sue and often includes confidentiality agreements - in cases of sexual assault and harassment. They also are demanding publication of a transparency report on instances of sexual harassment, more disclosure of salaries and compensation, an employee representative on the company's board and a chief diversity officer who could make recommendations directly to the board. https://www.nylimes.com/2018/10/31/technology/google-sexual-harassment-walkout.html 3/4 ' 11/ 1/2018 Google Faces Internal Backlash Over Handling of Sexual Harassment - The New York Times Other employees said they were disappointed that senior executives such as David C. Drummond, Alphabet's chief legal officer, who had a child with a female subordinate, and Mr. Brin, who had a public extramarital relationship with an employee, remained in influential positions. Some raised questions about whether it was appropriate for Eric Schmidt, the company's former chief executive and chairman, to remain on Alphabet's board after former and current employees said he had retained a mistress as a company consultant. Thursday's walkout is set to begin in Google's Tokyo office and then circle the globe, with employees leaving work around 11 a.m. in their time zones, Ms. Stapleton said. People can choose whether or not to return to work, she said. "While Google has championed the language of diversity and inclusion, substantive actions to address systemic racism, increase equity and stop sexual harassment have been few and far between. ENOUGH," organizers of the walkout wrote on an internal website, which was viewed by The Times. "Time's up at Google." Kate Conger and Daisuke Wakabayashi reported from San Francisco, and Katie Benner from Washington. Follow Kate Conger, Daisuke Wakabayashi and Katie Benner on Twitter: @kateconger, @daiwaka and @ktbenner. A version of th is article ap pea rs in print on Oct. 3 1, 2018 , on Page Al of t he New York edition with t he headline: Google Workers Pla n Wa lkout To Protest Harassment Culture READ 76 COMMENTS https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/31 /technology/g oogle-sexual-harassment-walkout. html 4/4 Google walkoul Hve: Pictures of prntesting Google workers· Business Insider 1'11/2018 B U SI N ESS INSIDER Google walkout live: Pictures of Google workers leaving their desks in protest over sexual misconduct Isobel Asher Hamilton and Jake Kanter 32m 000 Google employees on Thursday were prot esting sexual misconduct. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Google employees around the world are stagi ng a mass walkout Thursday in protest of sexual misconduct. httpsJlwww.bus.inessinsider.com/google-walkout-llve-pictures-or-protesting- google-w orkers-2018- 1'\#ceo-sundar-pichaj..sald-he-supported-the-walkout-22 \/21 Goog le walkout live: Pictures of protest ing Google workers - Business !nsider 1111 12018 It follows a bombshell New York Times report last week that named executives who had been accused of sexual misconduct, including Andy Rubin, the creator of the mobile operating system Android. Rubin denied any misconduct. v x Thousands of workers are expected to take part in the protest, which calls for people in Google's offices to walk away from their desk at 11 a.m. in their respective time zone. Protesters are using the hashtag #GoogleWalkou t. Employees in London, Tokyo, and Berli n are among those to have already taken p art. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he supported the protests and was listening to his staff. "We are aware of the activities planned for Thursday and that employees will have the support they need if they wish to participate," he said. Business Insider is covering th e Google walkout live. Refresh this page for updates. Business Insider reporters Shona Ghosh and Sean Wolfe were on the scene in London and New York. Google employees in Singapore were among the first to observe the walkout. Google walkout/Twitter As 11.10 a.m. rolled around in Europe, other Google offices took part. This picture was posted from Zurich by a software engineer named Danila Sinopalnikov. htt ps:Jtwww.t>usinessinsider.con\lgoogle-wa!kout-live-pictures-of-protesting-google-workers-2018-1 1#ceo-sundar-pichaj..said-he-supported-lhe-walkout-22 2/2 1 Google walkout live: Pidures of protesting Google workers - Business Insider 111112018 x Danila Sinopalnikov discover breakfgst In the cookie aisle One protester brought a megaphone to the walkout. Google Walkout "People are sharing stories about harassment, microagressions, inefficient process, broken culture," said a Twitter user named Ted, who described himself as a Google privacy engineer. Another decided to come as a Stormtrooper from "St ar Wars." The placard said: "I work on a Death Star but even I know not to sexually assault people." https:/twwN.businessinsider.comlgoogle-walko ut-llve-pidures-of- protesting- goog!e-workers..20 18- 11 #ceo-sundar- picha..,said-he- supported-the-walkout-22 3121 Google walk.out live: Pictures o l prot esting Googte workers - Business Insider 1111/2018 x Google Walkout Berlin Googlers stood in front of the iconic Brandenburg Gate. hltps:Jlwww.bus.inessinsider.com/goog le-walkout- live- pidures-of-protesting.goog\e-workers-201 S.. 1 1#ceo-sundar-picha~sa id-he-suppor1ed-the-walkout-22 4121 Google walkout live: Pictures of pro1esting Google workers - Business Insider 11/112018 Google Walkout Rainfall kept some Londoners indoors, but that did not stop them from making thei'ffeelings known. x Google Walkout The Business Insider reporter Shona Ghosh was at Google's St Giles Street offices. An employee taking part in the walkout told her: ''I'm proud that we're now supporting everyone, and hopefully now gives them a voice which most seem to feel th ey have not had before." She was told that workers at the Victoria office had a talk about the issues t hey're raising with management, including a call for a transparency report on sexual harassment. A Googler from London's Camden office who shared this picture said stories shared during the walkout were "heartbreaking." https:Jtwww.businessinsider.comlgoOQle-walkoU1-live-pictures-of-protest ing-google-workers-2018- l 1#ceo-sundar-plchai-said-he-supported-the-wa!kout-22 5121 Google walkoU1 live Pictures of prolesting Google WOfkers - Business lnsidet 111112018 x Google Walkout Though many London Googlers stayed inside to avoid the rain, some decided to brave the elements. Staff members were reluctant to talk to reporters, however. Shona Ghosh/Business Insider Google employees in Dublin also showed their solidarity for the cause. The RTE journalist Will Good body posted this video: e Will Goodbody @willgoodbody · 4h Replying to @willgoodbody Quick group photo and then it was back to work. Huge reluctance among th ose taking part to talk to press about why they were there - hnps:/!Wv.w .business1nsider.tomlgoogle-watkout..jrve.pictures.-of-protesltng.google-workers-201fr11keo-sundar-ptena.,.satd-he-supponed-the-walkout-22 6121 Google walkout live· Ptdures of p-sundar·plc.ha.. said·he·suppocted-the-walkout·22 8121 1\/112018 Google walkout hve PK:lures of pt"otesting Google w0tkers. 8'Jsiness Insider x Sean Wolfe/Business Insider Wolfe followed the Googlers as they made their way towards the High Line. A Sean Wo lfe ~V @seanthomaswolfe Replying to @seanthomaswolfe protest is moving toward the high line. sidewalks are pretty crowded at this point and police are trying to keep people off the street 6:22 AM - Nov 1, 2016 See Sean VVolfe's other Tweets There was a marked police presence accompanying the protesting workers. ht1ps::llWW'N.busTness1n11der.comtgoogle-walkoU1·tlve-pictures-of-pt01estino-google.·wOO.ers.201s.\1 #uo-sundu-ptcha~said-he-supported-th~allcOU'l -22 9121 111112016 Google walkout live: Pictu1es of protesi lng Google workers • Business Insider x Sean Wolfe/Business Insider Women waved placards as they marched. @GoogleWalkout/Twitter Crowds started to accumulate en masse at Hudson River park. h1tps'/twww.bus!neninslder.com19oogle-walkoll1 -1ive-pictures-or-protesting.-google-workers-201S..11#.ceo-sund1r-plchaf.said-he-suppor1ed.the-walkou1-22 10/21 \11112018 Google walkout bve; Pidures of protesting Google workers· Business In sider x Sean Wolfe/Business Insider The park soon filled up, so people stood outside. Sean Wolfe/Business Insider Here are Tokyo Googlers at the beginning of their walkout. https 1/'w\wl.business insider. com/goog le-walkou1-live-pictures-of- prote sting-google-worke rs-20 18-11#ceo-sund ar-pi ch ai- said-he-supported-the--walko ut-22 11121 Google walkout live: Pictures of protesting Google workers - Business Insider 11/1'2018 x Google Walkout V L K 'A ll C M _l l ~ !:, J' $ . In Haifa, Israel, Google has a small office of fewer than 100 people, but that didn't stop them from standing with Googlers worldwide. Google Walkout The organisers behind the walkout published an article outlining their stance. https://www.businessi nsider.comlgoogle-walkout-live-pictures-of· protesting-google·wori(;ers-2018-11fkeo-sundar-picha~said- he-supported-the-walkout-22 12121 Google walltOU1 rJVe: PidUfes of protes1ing Google workers - Business Insider 1111/2018 x Googlers in London. REUTERS/Toby MeMlle Googlers Claire Stapleton, Tanuja Gupta, Meredith Whittaker, Celie O'Neil-Hart, Stephanie Parker, Erica Anderson, and Amr Gaber cowrote a piece in The Cut detaiLing their reasons for organ ising the walkout. "The executive team has demonstrated through their lack of meaningful action that our safety is not a priority," they wrote. The protesters have five demands. 1. An end to fOf'ced Arbitration tn casH of ha~m.nt and dlsertmlnation. 2. A commitmont t o end Jl"Y and opportuni ty inequity. 3. A publtcly disclosed soxuol harassment transparency report.. 4. A clear, unHorm, globally Inclusive procesa for reporting sexual misconduct safely and anonymously. 5. Elevate the Chief Dlvetalty Offlcer to on awer directly t o the CEO and make recommendations directly to the Board of Directors.. In addition, appoint an Employ~ Aepresontativa lo lh• BOllrd. A Google Wa lkout Fo r Real Cha nge ~ @Google'Nalkout We, Google employees and contractors, will walkout on November 1 at 11 :10am to demand these five real changes. #googlewalkout 6: 19 PM-Oct 31, 2018 2, 183 1.232 people are talking about this The CNBC reporter Jillian D'Onfro provided more detail: http$://www.busines.sinsJder.comfgoogfe..w1lkout-live-p1dures.-or-protestln9-google-worker1-201 8-11~sundar-plchai-nld·he-suppor1ed-the-walkout-22 13/21 Google w alkout live· Plautes of prolesting Google w0M d t111tHMt~\ .arc C:1'<:nm.~t.on for •I Wf'f'1'tt .11"' Mure ti11pl"Y*~ $-Upl)()tt l!"' tJ IJ-~ dtOOSirg Mont; "'11h .II rt':;t'\I ft..·1 ~''/ (Jf~llo WC;tlvt lO Drsttj & '-'° \YOflcf.. rrtjlf~)ot"nLll~ DI ...,hi>n l"'W1rlP)(j w:th hR ~atily ....-h4in f1'-n11 ' h.M'•) )l'flf'.'ll i.llb!'tt Z • Acom.'1'11':'>"~tll t:3 tnd p;rj..i1:I orpartu:l..i~s ~t Kid.n;:y '.hing) 1~ l\tll v.(Jficlf'1g_ In no v"'lll P'I'' btc~.m• l !P.l· JXl! lc1n)a.nct tS a~u·d by s.-.hor rr~~9ftflef'lt. il\d d ;r«:lCtS, kxo."19 ihtm to pu1 maM9fll'IC?Ot\ lf\tff1,."$h fll\CM ?f w,,~l~y1.:e~ lfl l()(tlf'~ h,;a r;,sw~eM .vd c1scni.,lill'»l'()n. Ttlt i~ftA'td p11.Xf$S )housd ~o t t acu:ssiblt (O •It full·t111.~ ttT'.p)Cycel. tt.m;>orAry Mtp.!Oy~ \l('f'ckM\.. iJl;cj" CCl~fi<\OtS ahrc. A<.Cw1rtyrntnl u at\JS, tQ Jillian D'Onfro • _ @jillianiles Replying to @jillianiles Organizers are demanding more transparency from Google around its handling of sexual harassment and pay and opportunity inequity, as well as more employee empowerment overall (for example, having an employee representative join the company's board}. In their words: 11:59 PM - Oct 31, 2018 41 38 people a re talking about this CEO Sundar Pichai said he supported the walkout. Getty/Justin Sullivan Pichai told Business Insider in a statement that management supported the protest: "We let Googlers know that we are aware of th e activities planned for Thursday and that employees will have the support they need if they wish to participate," he said. But a Google engineer named Liz Fong-Jones encouraged t he press to shift their focus away from Pichai's support. ht1p,Jtwww.business1n1ioer.com1googie.... alkout-l!ve-pidures.-of-protestmg-google-worker5-2018- 11 #eeo.sund1r-pte.ha!-sa1CM1e-supponed-the-walkout·22 1 14121 Google walkout hve Pidures of protesting Google w orkers - Busine ss Insider 1111/20 18 Liz Fong-Jones @lizthegrey All of the headlines that start with "Google CEO supports .. ." are focusing on the wrong thing. x ,/ Whal matters today is workers' voices and demands. It doesn't matter whether management claims to support; the real test w ill be whether the demands are met. #GoogleWalkout 9:57 PM -Oct 31, 20 16 557 196 people are tal king about this Get the latest Google stock price here. More: Google Google walkout Sundar Pichai Taboola Feed Military Watc h Everybody In United States Is Talking About Sponsored by Tact Watch You Should Never Shop on Amazon Without Using This Trick - Here's Why Sponsored by Honey If Your Dog Eats Grass (Do This Everyday) Sponsored by Ult imate Pet Nutrition San Francisco: This M eal Service Is Cheaper Than Your Local Store Sponsored by Home Chef Forget Your 401k if you Own a Home (Do This) Spon sore d by M o ming Finance I LC/\dingTree Quotes Top Plastic Surgeon: "Do This At Home Everyd ay To Help Saggy Skin" Sponsored b y Beverly Hills MD Teens are abandoning Victoria's Secret ..,. "'..'l . The Dolphins completed a pass that defies logic and is being compared to a video game glitch 16 sayings only people from the Midwest will understand hnpsJJwww,busJne.ssjnl lder,com/poogle-walkou1-IJVe-pidures-of-protesting.-goog\e-workerr201 S.-11 #Ceo-.sundar-picha~sa ~d-he..suppor1ed.-the-.walkout-22 15121 The S90M Women's Walkout At Google: Is Real Change Coming? 1111 /2018 EDITOR'S PICK I 14,626 views I Oct 30, 2018, 08:17pm The $90M Wolllen's Walkout At Google: Is Real Change Coming? ~ Chdstina Vuleta Google's headquarter s inMountain View, California, USA Post updated 10/31/2018, 1:30 pm EST How much does sexual harassment cost? If you are Google, it may cost up to $90 million per case. Last week the New York Times reported that a female employee accused Andy Rubin, the creator of Android and former Google employee, of allegedly forcing her to perform a sexual act at a hotel in 2 013. According to the reporting, the https ://www.for bes .com/sites/christinavuleta/2018/10130/the-90m-womens-walkout-at-google-is-real-cha nge-coming/#3a584fc5 1d62 1/5 The S90M Women's Walkout At Google : Is Real Change Coming? 11/1/2018 company investigated and found the claim credible enough to let him go in But not without toasting his achievements and sending him off with a $90 2 014. million exit package. Whether spurred on by the gigantic price tag or the tech giant's silent acceptance of alleged sexual misconduct, now the women of Google are ready to walk. As first reported by Buzzfeed, more than 200 women engineers are planning to walk out this Thursday to protest the company's handling of the sihrntion. Many employees seem crushed by the realization that their company rewards innovation at the cost of women's well-being and safety. _,-- Kill-y Ellis ~ ---~--..,-~.,··-...,\ ! @1ustkeUy_ok v I feel like the lede is getting lost: GOOGLE PAID A GUY $90 MILLION BECAUSE HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED SOMEONE 3:05 PM - 25 Oct 2018 394 Retweets 890 Likes 0 9 tl 394 \:, Q fj) • - " (I '(j e t} 890 Tweet your reply Twitter // @ju stkelly_ok TWITTER While Rubin released a statement to the New York Times saying its story contained "numerous inaccuracies," this is just one of three cases of Google executives who, after being accused of sexual misconduct, were either quietly let go with generous compensation or, in one instance, kept on in a well-paid position. https ://www.forbes.com/sites/christinavuleta/2018/10/30/the-90m-womens-walkout-at-google-is-real-change-coming/#3a584 fc51 d62 215 The $90M Women's Walkout At Google: Is Real Change Coming? 11/1/20 18 YOU MAY ALSO LIKE To make matters worse, Larry Page, cofounder of Google and CEO of parent company Alphabet, seemed to have missed the mark when addressing the issues at a company meeting. According to the Times, he told employees: "I know this is really an exceptionally painful story for some of you, and I'm really sorry for that." But shouldn't this situation be painful for everyone, most especially Google leadership? Is this really the best response possible from the company that includes "Don't Be Evil" in its code of conduct? Or is it simply unsurprising given the tech culture's history with lack of empathy? One instance that comes to mind is the ten-page memo that fired Google engineer James Damore wrote in 2017 explaining why women make bad engineers and arguing against the advancem ent of women in STEM. Will the planned women's walkout make any difference in the corporate culture and executive behavior at Google and other t ech giants? Maybe, but it's going t o be an uphill struggle. A recent study by Lean In and McKinsey, "Women In The Workplace," says that despite the #MeToo movement, women are not feeling confident that their claims about sexual harassment will be taken seriously. The study shows that 30 % of women are skeptical that the changes taking place around sexual harassment policies and programs are effective, and women are twice as likely as men to say that it would be risky or pointless to repo1t an incident. That is the concern that Liz Fong-J ones, workplace activist and Google engineer, was referencing when she told the New York Times: "When Google covers up harassment and passes th e trash, it contribut es to an environment where people don't feel safe reporting misconduct." She added, "They suspect that nothing will happen or, worse, that the men will be paid, and the \vomen will be pushed aside." https ://www.forbes.com/sites/christinavuleta/2018/10/30/the-90m-womens-walkout-at-google·is-real-change-coming/#3a584fc5 1d62 3/5 The S90M Women's Walkout At Google: Is Real Change Coming? 11/1/2018 The response by Page and the consistent bad corporate beh avior indicate that real change can't h appen until the men in leadership and corporat e boards value the pipeline of women and their contributions as much as the work of one man, even if he created Android. Here's hoping that this walkout inspires the company, as well as others, to walk the talk and commit to real change. Update 10/31/2018, 1:30 pm EST: Last night the New York Times reported that Richard Devaul, a director at the X unit of Google's parent company, Alphabet, resigned from the company. The resignation came after the New York Times reported last week that a former female job applicant accused him of sexual harassment. While Rubin was let go, DeVaul remained employed by Google despite the company's reported statem ent that the accuser's "account was 'more likely than not' true and that 'appropriat e action' was t aken," according to the Times article. The subsequent anger in response to the handling of DeVaul and the other executives was the impetus for the Google walkout planned for Thursday. The walkout is now estimated to include more than i,ooo employees, according to the Times. The walkout planned in protest of the protection of sexual harassers now has the support of Google leadership. On Tuesday evening Axios shared Google CEO Sundar Pichai's apology to Google employees. He admitted in a company em ail that the h andling of prior sexual harassment issues "didn't go fa r enough" and committed to take a "much harder line" going forward . Pichai also pledged to support employees who choose to take part in the walkout on Thursday. Th e question for many remains: When will tech leadership start hiring, paying and promoting more women to lessen the need for future apologies? " 'Google CEO Sundar Pichai promised to take a "much harder line" on sexual harassment.' @inafried @axioshttps://t. co/ MQKCpo81CS Here's a better idea, Sundar : hire, promote, champion, give juicy 'moonshots' to WOM EN. Sexual harassment disappears in a gender-equal work enviroment - Cindy Gallop (@cindygallop) October 31, 2018 https ://www.forbes.com/sites/christinavuleta/20 18/10/30/the-90m-womens-walkout-at-google-is-real-change-coming/#3a584fc51 d62 415 The S90M Women's Walkout At Google: Is Real Change Coming? 11/ 1/2018 I manage Women @Forbes, the next step on my mission to share perspective and create pathways for women to take their next steps forward. It's anything but linear! I grew up in advertising then moved to trends, global rnsearch and brand strategy. I started CV Consulting to bri ... MORE 95.089 views I Sep 18, 2018, 11:50am Closed-End Fund Investors: Savvy, Prosperous and Young In sights Team Insights Contribu tor FO RBES INSIGHTS With Nuveen Hirbesin.; .. ., FO RBES INSIGHTS With Nuveen Follow Nuveen, t he investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-ter m financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $973 billion in assets under managem ent as of 30 June 2018 and ... Read More https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinavuleta/2018/10/30/lhe-90m-womens-walkout-at-google-is-real-change-coming/#3a584fc51 d62 515 11/1 /2018 A lphabet Executive Resigns After Harassment Accusation - The New York Times Alphabet Executive Resigns After Harassment Accusation Oct. 30, 2018 SAN FRANCISCO - Richard Devaul, a director at the X unit of Google's parent company, Alphabet, resigned from the company on Tuesday after he was accused in a New York Times article published last week of sexually harassing a female job applicant. Star Simpson, a hardware engineer, said that in 2013, Mr. Devaul made unwanted advances to her at his encampment at Burning Man, an annual festival in the Nevada desert. It was a week after she interviewed at Google for a job reporting to him. When Ms. Simpson reported his behavior to Google two years later, a company official told her .that her story was "more likely than not" true and that appropriate action had been taken against Mr. DeVaul without explaining what the company had done. After the article was published, many employees expressed anger and disappointment that Mr. Devaul was still employed at the company despite Ms. Simpson's harassment claim. Women at Google, upset at the company's handling of accusations against Mr. Devaul as well as other executives, plan to stage a walkout on Thursday with more than 1,000 people planning to leave Google's offices in protest. Sundar Pichai, Google's chief executive, said in an email to employees on Tuesday that the company's initial apology after the publication of The Times article "wasn't enough" and that staff participating in the walkout would get "the support you need." "As CEO, it's been personally important to me that we take a much harder line on inappropriate behavior," Mr. Pichai wrote. "We have taken many steps to do so, and know our work is still not done." After Ms. Simpson reported Mr. DeVaul's actions, Google continued to promote Mr. DeVaul's work in news articles. "It probably feels hard to trust me and X right now, but I want to reassure you that we do take these issues very seriously, we investigate every allegation we receive, and we do what's right based on the information we have," Astra Teller, the head of X, the company's research and development arm, wrote on Friday in an email obtained by The Times. https:l/www.nylimes.com/20 18/10/30/technology/alphabet-executive-sexual-harassment-resigns .html 1/2 11 /1/2018 Alphabet Executive Resigns After Harassment Accusation - The New York Times Mr. Devaul received no exit package from Alphabet, Google's parent company, after he resigned, a company spokeswoman said. She declined to elaborate further. Mr. DeVaul's resignation was reported earlier by Axios. Mr. DeVaul did not respond to several requests for comment. In a statement before the Times article had published, Mr. Devaul apologized for an "error of judgment." He said X decided not to hire Ms. Simpson before she went to Burning Man and that he did not realize she had not been informed. Mr. Devaul was an influential figure within the X unit. Until recently, he was the director of rapid evaluation, running a team that weighs the progress of various X projects, deciding which endeavors get killed and which continue. In the last few months, he had taken on a new role as the "director of mad science." Follow Daisuke Wakabayashi on Twitter: @daiwaka A version of this article appears in print on Oct. 30, 2018, on Page 84 of the New York edition with the headline: Alphabet Executive Resigns After Job Applicant's Claim of Harassment at Burning Man https :l/www.nytimes.com/2018110130/technology/alphabet-executive-sexual-harassment-resigns.html 212 Timeline of a crisis: The #MeToo movement comes to Google I PR Week 12/13/2018 Timeline of acrisis: The #Meloo movement comes to Google November 21, 2018 by Sean Czarnecki Google was hit with one of its worst crises yet after revelations about former exec Andy Rubin Feature Photo credit: Getty images November 28, 2017 Digital media company The Information reports Andy Rubin, the creator of And roid and a former Google executive, left the company in 2014 after it discovered he had an inappropriate relationship with a subordin ate. https://www.prweek.com/article/1519122/timeline-crisis-metoo-movement-comes-google 1/4 Timeline of a crisis: The #MeToo movement comes to Google I PR Week 12/ 13/201 8 It was unclear what those allegations were and whether he was paid an exit package. Rubin takes a leave of absence from his new smartphone venture, Essential, for personal reasons. His spokesperson, crisis wrangler Mike Sitrick, denies wrongdoing. October 25, 2018 The New York Times publishes an investigation saying Google paid Rubin handsomely despite finding credible allegations he coerced a female employee to perform oral sex on him. Instead of firing Rubin, then-Google CEO Larry Page asked for his resignation. The tech company kept the revelations under wraps and paid Rubin a $90 million exit package in 2014. Rubin denies the allegations through spokesperson Sam Singer. He tweets the allegations are part of a smear campaign. Google CEO Sundar Pichai and HR head Eileen Naughton email employees, saying they've fired 48 people over the past two years for sexual harassment with no exit package. October 26 Google staff confronts Pichai and current-Alphabet CEO Page at its weekly meetings, asking what it will do to reverse its current course of action: protecting abusers at the expense of victims' well-being. Page admits there are some decisions he "would have made differently" and offers an apology. October 29 A group of more than 200 engineers organize a companywide walkout for November 1 to protest Google protecting perpetrators of sexual harassment. Pichai emails employees to voice his support of the walkout. October 30 Axios reports Richard beVaul , a director at Alphabet's research and development arm, X, has left the company following allegations in the Times. The newspaper reports he made a pass at a woman applying for a job at X. Devaul did not receive an exit package, according to a spokeswoman . October 31 Over 1,500 Google employees plan to walk out of nearly two dozen offices worldwide. November 1 Pichai addresses the crisis at the Dealbook conference, saying, "At Google, we set a high bar, and we didn't live up to expectations." https ://www.prweek.com/article/1519 122/timeline-crisis-metoo-movement-comes-google 2/4 12/13/201 8 Timeline of a crisis: The #MeToo movement comes to Google I PR Week November 2 #GoogleWalkout organizers say at least 20,000 employees and contractors participated in offices in 50 cities around the world. Pichai will meet with his leadership team to review a plan that will address the walkout's demands, which include an end to forced arbitration in harassment cases. November 8 In a public letter, Pichai announces Google is making arbitration optional, providing more detail into sexual harassment investigations, and revamping its reporting system. Also, it's doubling down on its commitment to diversity and inclus ion and updating its mandatory sexual harassment training. Mixed Google failed at basic comms: engaging all stakeholders, but Pichai's letter promises extensive overhaul that can bring about a safer workplace. Takeaway #1 Paging Larry Page. Google's cofounder may have squirmed out of testifying in front of Congress, but turtling up isn't an option when it comes to this sensitive of an issue. It's visceral, it taps into a social firestorm, and the company's character is on trial. Takeaway #2 Your people are your brand. Privacy, echo chambers. and politics aside, Google is finally getting hit where it hurts: losing its edge as an employer of choice, a key component of its corporate reputation . Whatever brand equity Google has built up over the years will bleed out fast if it's its own employees holding the knife. https://www.prweek.com/article/ 1519122/timeline-crisis-metoo-movement-comes-google 3/4 Timeline of a crisis: The #MeToo movement comes to Google I PR Week 12/13/201 8 Have you registered with us yet? Register now to enjoy more articles and free email bulletins REGISTER Already registered? SIGN IN https://www.prweek.com/article/15191 22/timeli ne-crisis-metoo-movement-comes-google 4/4 i': November 2, 2018 ~;3f'.~:~;_~:·- .-. :..:.~. . ·,·: :.~--~- .:: -~ .. . . •. ' Jes~lca Ct:u(stlan I The Chronicle , Google employees participate in a company-wide walk~ut from their offices in San Fran~isco, part of the final ·wave-of protests that began at 11 a.m. local ti.me in Singapore and Tokyo. ·w alkout forwomen claim.ing "numerous inaccuracies" and "wild exaggerations about my compensation.") · Hun.d reds ofemployees at Google's San FranciscQ office walked out The walkouts came in response to around u ~.m. on Thursday, gathering at Harry Bridges Plaza ou tside the recent revelations ofbig payouts and -light treatment given to company Ferry Building to c;all for an end to executives accused ofbad behavior at · sexual h;i.rassment and pay inequity the workplace. The most prominent at the company. Speakers shared stories of harasscase was the departure ofAndy Rument that colleagues had submitted, bin, creator ofthe Android mobile and the crowd chanted·"Women's operating systein. He left Google in 2014 following an investigation into a .rights are worker's rights" and "Equal pay for equal work." . relationship with afemhle.subordiCathay Bi, a product manager at nate, the New York Times reported, Google who led the chants, said she and collected a payout of$90 million. Walkout continues on D3 (Rubin h as disputed the reports, Thousands of workers·worldwide protest Google's response to sexual miscondtic~ · By Melia Russell and ~ophia Kunthara In a coordinated protest ofwhat theysayisal:µcapproachtosexual misc9nduct complaints, thousands of Google employees march~d Thursday along the Embarcadero in San Francisco; at company headquarters in Mountain View; and as far afield as Hyderabad, India; Singapore; London; Tokyo; Toronto; and Dublin, Ireland. ·:-, .: ·. :·· Eltyan R. Smith I AFP I Getty lmog~ Nlall Carson I Associated Press Google employees walked out of the company's l.'urop~an headquarters in Dublin to protest lenient treabnent of executives accused of sexual misconduct. The walkout included Google's large office in New York City, as well as others in Singapore, Londoo, Tokyo· and the Indian city of Hyderabad. Google workers call for changes Walkout from page D1 views) h as been nothing endorsed employee walkbut negatively impacted outs to protest governby it," Brown said. She had experienced sexual ment policies on immigrah arassment at the compa- 'was heartened by the tion. But its approval of the Thursday walkout ny. reaction to a New York "I did not feel safe talkTimes report that detailed amounts to an unusual act ing about it,'; Bi said. That Google's history with ofcorporate self-criticism. feeling, sh e said, prompf: harassment complaints: In Mountain View, ed her to participate in the "Th ere'sanewcommi.mihundreds ofemployees walkout. She said sl:ie ty forming at Google and poured in.lo the main wanted to take a s tand, it's good." . courtyard at the Googleplex, thecompany's headdespite fears of retaliaIn a demonstrntion of tion: '1 said to myself last the compllny's freewheelquarters campus. night that I hope I s till ing culture, which is un"I think this was the usually tolennt of internal $90 .million su-:;w that have a career in Silicon dissent, Google CEO SunValley after this." broke the camel's back, to J enny Brown, an embe hone.st," said Google . dar Pichai has said he ployee at Google, particisupp0rts the walkouts. employee Ceily O'Neilpated in the walkout in · "Employees have raised . Hart, an organizerof the San Francisco. She held-a constructive ideas for h ow walkout in Mountain sign: "I reported :ind he we can improve our pol-· View, referring to Rubin'~ got promoted." reported payout. "But icies and our processes Brownsaidshewas going forward," Picbai there are s o many stories sexually harassed by a said in a statement. "We that we've heard for so s uperioratGooglewho . long and it's time for acare taking in all their feedback so we can tum was subsequently pro· tion and change, real rooted twice. these ideas into action." change.'.' "My performan~e (reGoogle has previously · O'Neil-Hart said the Cole Burston I Canadian Prus Google employees gatl1er under a tree as fellow employees read from a list of personal accoun_ts during a walkout in Toronto. protes ters were seeking an end to clauses in employment contracts that require arbitration for disputes related to sexual harassment; a commitm ent to pay equjty; and an employee representative on the company's board of directors. More than 6o percent of Google offices had some · and Mountain View. workers participate, she said. Melia Russe//and Sophia Kun/hara are San Francisco "We do feel beard," she said. ''.And we look forward Chronicle staffwriters. Email: melia."rosself@ to seeing action." The walkouts began MU sfchronicfe.com, a.m. local time in Singapore sophia.kunthara@ and Tokyo and circled the sfchronicfe.com Twit/er: . globe, ending with the @meliarobin, protests in San Francisco @SophiaKunthara .. '' 11/5/2018 Three Reasons To Believe Google Must Pay Alleged Sexual Harassers 1,354 views I Oct 29, 2018, 02:30pm Three Reasons To Believe Google Must Pay Alleged Sexual Harassers Kristi Faulkner Contributor 0 ForbesWomen l want gender equality in my lifetime. In fact, the sooner the better. W hy would Google pay alleged h arassers millions? GOOGLE Though it's hardly breaking news these days, yet another prominent man has been pushed out of his high-level position amid allegations of sexual harassment, abuse of power, and exploiting women reports. While it does seem like the same old story we've been hearing since # MeToo began galvanizing a movement early last year, this one, uncovered by the New York Times, is different. Because this one involves Andy Rubin, the "Father of Android," and Google, a company that touches almost every man, woman, and child on earth, and where "don't be evil" is the ingrained credo. In spite of the accusations, Google feted Rubin's departure, with Larry Page himself publicly wishing him "all the best with what's next" and, according to the h ttps ://www. for bes. com/sites/kri stifau Ikner/201 8/10/29/th ree-reasons-google-has-to-pay-the-stu pid-mo ney-to-sexuaI-ha rassers/#c 1a a3fb4 7208 1/5 11/5/2018 Three Reasons To Believe Google Must Pay Alleged Sexual Harassers Time's stellar reporting, backed that good will up with $2.5 million cash in Rubin's bank account every month for years. Why didn't they just fire him without severance, you ask? It's a reasonable question, and Google has at least three tried-and-true reasons to believe it's more important to pay nearly a hundred million dollars to the alleged abuser rather than, say, publicly disavow his behavior, press charges, or equally compensate the women Google believes have credible accounts. Reason #t: He's a genius. Google is known for hiring the most skilled, mostly male, technology talent in the world. Andy Rubin is both. He's the guy who developed Android- a platform that made it easier to put Google in the hands of the masses. Page called Rubin's creation of Android "truly remarkable," and he's been hailed as a genius in Silicon Valley. As Hannah Gatsby famously asserts, once it's decided a guy is a genius, his reputation is more important than his actions-even if some of those alleged actions include storing bondage porn on his work computer and forcing a woman who worked with him to perform oral sex. Rubin's no Picasso, but still, Google found it easy enough to separate the man from the art. After all, says Gatsby, in our culture, geniuses must be protected and revered. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE So why doesn't Google hire some equally genius women software developers to bring balance to power? As most big tech companies like to espouse, there just aren't enough qualified women in the pipeline. Girls outperform boys in school, and more women graduate college now than men, but female genius seems to vanish when women join the workforce. According to a Google search, only about 30% of Google employees are women-a stat that hasn't changed in many years. Reason #2: He's worth it. htips://www. forbes.com/sites/kri s tifauIkner/20 18/ 10/29/th ree-reasons-goog le-has-to-pay-the-stupid-money-to-sexual-ha rassers/#c 1 aa3 fb4 7208 2/5 11 /5/2018 Three Reasons To Believe Google Must Pay Alleged Sexual Harassers Rubin made his first $so million when Google acquired his software company. Once he joined Google, they gave him a $40 million bonus plus $72 million in stock, plus a reported $20 million in annual compensation. Even in the midst of the harassment investigation, the Google board continued to demonstrate his extreme value to the company when it awarded him another $i50 million in stock grants. And to sweeten his depa1ture, on top of his incredibly generous exit package, Google kicked in even more millions to fund his startup. Rubin was so valuable to Google, they were willing to look the other way when accounts of his alleged bad behavior became even worse. Meanwhile, as Rubin was collecting his hundreds of millions, the women he's accused of abusing weren't earning anything close to equal what Rubin was, which indicates their relative worth to Google. Though he wasn't known for valuing the feelings or morale of his team, Rubin appears to know the value of women- and according to his wife, owned a few. In her divorce suit, Rubin's ex-wife supported her case with a screenshot of an email to a woman, "Being owned is kinda like you are my property, and I can loan you to other people." One has to wonder if that's the general attitude of other men leading Google, who seem to look at the women there as most romantic interests. Reason #3: Google leads by example. Google is the third most valued company in the world, employs more than 80,000 people and interacts with several billion users every day. Like most tech companies, its leadership makeup reflects its employees, not its customers, which, like the general population, is half women. The company is 70% male. The board and top executives are overwhelmingly male, many of whom have been accused of questionable behavior with women-reportedly, extramarital affairs with underlings are common. There have been countless reports that the two founders, the former CEO, various directors, and even the chief counsel have been romantically involved with women employees- many while married. How can any of these men in leadership condemn one of their own with a straight face? It's understandable why Google would keep silent about the accusations. Women are liabilities in these cases and have been treated that way. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristifa ulkner/2018/10/29/three-reasons-google-has-to-pay-the-stupid-money-to-sexual-harassers/#c1aa3fb47208 3/5 Three Reasons To Believe Google Must Pay Alleged Sexual Harassers 11 /5/2018 The weak apology. After the rationalizations, next up in the patriarchal playbook is the pseudoapology. When Larry Page finally acknowledged the corporate cover-up to employees, his non-apology exacerbated the outrage and disgust. "I know this is really an exceptionally painful story for some of you, and I'm really sorry for that," he said in a meeting, failing to indicate that either he or the board felt exceptional pain for their complicity in the situation. He did not mention any regret, remorse, or embarrassment for the millions of dollars the company has given the accused to leave. Google: The world's most innovative company? The fact is, until women are hired, groomed, and promoted at Google in parity to men, given fair representation on the board, similar job titles and duties, and rewarded with equal pay for equal work, Google is not fulfilling its promise to be the most innovative company in the world. When leadership obfuscates facts, Google is not fulfilling its mission to democratize information. When leadership seems to condone alleged harassment, assault and exploitation of women, Google undermines its commitment to do no evil. A note to the men leading Google: the same old patriarchal ideas and behaviors will not change the world. Don't keep paying stupid amounts of money to accused harassers. Put the smart money on women instead. That will definitely change the world-and isn't that what you first set out to do? https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristifaulkner/201 8/10/29/three-reasons-google-has-to-pay-the-stupid-money-to-sexual-harassers/#c 1aa3fb4 7208 4/5 11/5/2018 Three Reasons To Believe Google Must Pay Alleged Sexual Harassers - A Google dood l e celebrating women. GOOGLE I'm a founding partner of Gender Fair, an organization that independently rates companies' commitment to equality and shares that data to inform consumers. I'm interested in stories about the enlightened companies that embrace and promote gender fair policies and practices; ... MORE Kristi Faulkner is a creative director, strategist, and co-founder of @GenderFair and @Womenkind, a strategic marketing firm dedicated to serving women. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristifaulkner/2018/10/29/three-reasons-google-has·to-pay-the-stupid-money-to-sexual-harassers/#c1aa3fb47208 5/5 Google Workers Fume Over Executives' Payouts After Sexual Jfarassment Claims Google's campus in Mountain View, Calif. One worker said the way it had handled executives accused of misconduct was "crushing." Christ ie Hemm Klok for The New York Times By Daisuke Wakabayashi and Kate Conger :I. 26, 2018 SAN FRANCISCO - At Google's weekly staff meeting on Thursday, the top question that employees voted to ask Larry Page, a cofounder, and Sundar Pichai, the chief executive, was one about sexual harassment. "Multiple company actions strongly indicate that protection of powerful abusers is literally and figuratively more valuable to the company than the well-being of their victims," read the question, which was displayed at the meeting, according to people who attended. "What concrete and meaningful actions will be taken to turn this around?" The query was part of an outpouring from Google employees after aNew York Times article published on Thursday reported how the company had paid millions of dollars in exit packages to male executives accused of misconduct and stayed silent about their transgressions. In the case of Andy Rubin , the creator of Android mobile software, the company gave him a $90 million exit package even after Google bad concluded that a misconduct claim against him was credible. While tech workers, executives and others slammed Google for the revelations, nowhere was condemnation of the internet giant's actions more pointed than among its own employees. ADVERTISEMENT The employee rebuke played out on Thursday and Friday in company meetings and on internal message boards and social networks, as well as on Twitter. Jaana Dogan, who works in Google Cloud, the company's cloud computing business, tweeted. "If you are worth of millions of dollars, you should be able to show the door to autho1;tarian governments and serial abusers. If not now, then when?" Another Google employee, Sanette Tanaka Sloan, also posted on Twitter that the way Google had handled Mr. Rubin's misconduct claim was "crushing." She added, "We can do so much better." A 'fl 1 Sanette Tanaka Sloan @ssktanaka News like the @nytimes report on @google's handling of Andy Rubin and other top execs is crushing. As much as I believe in supporting the company you work for, it's equally important to voice what you vehemently disagree with. We can do so much better nytimes.com/201 8/10/25/tec ... 9:23 AM - Oct 26, 2018 How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the 'Father of Android' The internet giant paid Mr. Rubin $90 million and praised him, while keeping silent about a misconduct claim. nytimes.com 77 31 people are talking about this On Memegen, an internal Google photo-messaging board popular among employees for its humor, one of the top posts on Thursday featured a GIF of an ove1joyed game show contestant showered with confetti. Beneath the image was the text "got caught sexually h arassing employee," said one employee who saw the post and who asked not to be identified because she was not authorized to speak publicly. Google's work force often takes to internal messaging.platforms to protest management decisions. Employees have opposed the company's decisions to work with the PentagQll on artificial intelligence technology and to create a censored search eng~ for China. (Google has since dropped its A.I. effo1t with the Pentagon and it has not introduced a censored search engine for China.) ADVERTISEMENT On Thursday and Friday, some Google employees said they were dispirited by how some executives accused of harassment were paid millions of dollars even as the company was fending off lawsuits from former emplQy..e.es. and ~partment of Labor that claimed it underpaid women. Google has said in the past that it had found "no significant difference" in the pay between men and women at the company. Other employees said they tried to calculate how many hours of their work would have gone toward generating the $90 million that Mr. Rubin obtained in his exit package. Mr. Rubin has denied any misconduct and said the report of his compensation was a "wild exaggeration." Some Google employees said they had more questions after Mr. Pichai and Eileen Naughton, vice president of people operations, wrote in an email on Thursday that the company had fired 48 people, including 13 senior managers, for sexual harassment over the last two years and that none of them received an exit package. Some workers said they wanted more data on how many claims were investigat ed and how many were found credible before the 48 people were terminated, while others questioned the promotion and hiring system that allowed 13 people to become senior managers who harassed in the first place. Liz Fong-Jones, a Google engineer fo r more than a decade and an activist on workplace issues, said in a tweet that judgments over m isconduct claims can be clouded by whether a person's boss feels they can "afford" to lose that person. In the case of Mr. Rubin and others, she said, that put Mr. Page in the spotlight. "The decision maker must have been Larry Page," Ms. Fong-Jones wrote. "The buck stops there." At Google's employee meeting on Thursday, hours after Al~ re~ another quatter of blockbuster earnings, Mr. Page spoke to employees along with Mr. Pichai and Ms. Naughton. It was unclear how they responded to the question from employees, but the executives struck a conciliatory tone, according to remarks obtained by The Times. During the meeting, Mr. Page and Mr. Pichai did not comment on specific misconduct cases. Mr. Pichai noted that Google had made some "important changes" in how it handles harassment cases, according to the remarks. ADVERTISEMENT "We want to get better, and we want to get to a place where it truly reflects our values of respect, particularly respect for each other," Mr. Pichai said. Mr. Page said if employees suffered from harassment while at Google, then the compa ny was not "the company we aspire to be." He also offered an apology. "I've had to make a lot of decisions that affect people every day, some of them not easy. And, you know, I think certainly there's ones with the benefit of hindsight I would have made differently," Mr. Page said. "I know this is really an exceptionally painful story for some of you, and I'm really sorry for that." Follow Daisuke Wakabayashi and Kate Conger on Twitter: @daiwaka and @kateconger. A version of this article appears In print on Oct. 26, 2016, on Page Bl of the New York edition with the headline: Workers Take Google to Task Over Payouts. Order Reprints I Today's Paper I Subscribe 10/26/2018 Google ignored sexual misconduct by Andy Rubin, gave him $90 million Google reportedly gave Andy ~ubin $90 million after sex scandal (Update: Rubin tweets) NEWS BY C. SCOTI BROWN4 HOURS AGO Forbes Update #2, October 26, 2018 (10:03AM EST): Andy Rubin took to Twitter to respond to the serious allegations levied against him by a recent New York Times expose. In the tweets, Rubin doesn't give any explanations about what is alleged in the bombshell article, but does call out both the publication and Google for taking part in a "smear campaign." . ,ubin is currently in a divorce and custody battle and posits that the NYT article and Google's response (detailed in the first update below) are filled with ''false allegations" and "wild https://www.androidauthority.com/andy-rubin-scandal-google-918439/ 1/4 10/26/2018 Google ignored sexual misconduct by Andy Rubin, gave him $90 million exaggerations." Notably, Rubin says he "never coerced a woman to have sex in a hotel room," which could b\ interpreted as a denial of the facts - or a lesson in semantics, depending on how you read it. Either way, Rubin's tweets are below: Andy Rubin @Arubin · 17.IJ 1/2 The New York limes story contains numerous inaccuracies about my employment at Google and wild exaggerations about my compensation. Specifically, I never coerced a woman to have sex in a hotel room. These false allegations are part of a smear campaign Andy Rubin @Arubin 212 to disparage me during a divorce and custody battle. Also, I am deeply troubled that anonymous Google executives are commenting about my personnel file and misrepresenting the facts. 6:29 PM - Oct 25, 2018 84 61 people are talking about this Update #1, October 25, 2018 (4:51PM EST): After The New York Times published its bombshell report described below, Google sent out an email to all employees to make a statement on the matter, via CNBC. Google CEO Sundar Pichai is quick to point out Google has fired 48 employees in the last two years for problems revolving around sexual misconduct. Of those 48 employees, 13 were "senior managers and above," and none of the 48 received an exit package. However, nowhere in the email does Pichai attempt to explain what exactly happened with Rubin nor what the company plans to do to respond to these serious allegations of corporate negligence. You can read the full email here. Original Article, October 25, 2018 (2:06PM EST): When Andy Rubin - the so-called "Father of Android" who was the primary developer of the world's largest mobile operating system https://www.androidauthority.com/andy-rubin-scandal-google-918439/ 2/4 10/26/2018 Google ignored sexual misconduct by Andy Rubin, gave him $90 million resigned from the Google Android team in 2014, he was given a fond farewell. "I want to wish Andy all the best with what's next," Larry Page, Google's then-CEO, said in a ,A.Jblic statement. "With Android he created something truly remarkable - with a billion-plus happy users." On his way out of Google's door, Rubin received a parting gift: $90 million paid out over monthly installments of $2 million. The final payment is expected next month. However, in November of last year, news broke that the "resignation" wasn't quite so simple. According to anonymous sources familiar with the matter, Rubin was actually forced to resign after having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a female subordinate on the Google Android team. After this news broke, Rubin took a leave-of- EDITOR'S PICK absence from his startup, Essential, which Andy Rubin taking leave from Essential in wake of "inappropriate relationship" report at that point was just launching the Essential 0 hone. While Rubin's forced exit from Google was known in November last year, we are now just learning about this $90 million gift from Google, which the company would not have had to pay if it had fired.Rubin instead of forcing him to resign. According to The New York Times report on the matter, Rubin is actually one of three known male executives who received credible claims of sexual misconduct against them and were either given huge parting gifts on their resignation or - in one case - allowed to continue highpaying work with the company. To make matters worse, Google is also a major investor in Essential. Andy Rubin didn't just leave Google - he was given the choice to be fired or resign. He resigned and got a huge payout for it. https:l/www.androidauthority.com/andy-rubin-scandal-google-91 8439/ 314 10/26/2018 Google ignored sexual misconduct by Andy Rubin, gave him $90 million Rubin's transgression at Google allegedly stems from an extramarital sexual liaison he had with a female subordinate in a hotel room. Although the act is assumed to be consensual, Google like many companies - has strict policies against sexual relationships with subordinates duf the ethical and legal concerns which stem from those situations. Eileen Naughton, Google's vice president for people operations, said in a statement, "We investigate and take action, including termination. In recent years, we've taken a particularly hard line on inappropriate conduct by people in positions of authority. We're working hard to keep improving how we handle this type of behavior." While this policy no doubt exists, it appears EDITOR'S PICK from this new information Google Andy Rubin returns to Essential after taking a leave overlooked the policy in Rubin's case. of absence The rest of The New York Times expose delves into the working culture at Google, where it is alleged high-ranking male employees are given soft punishments (or none at all) for violations of company policy, even when it comes to sexual misconduct. In Rubin's case, there were many red flags which should have made Google at the very least keep a close eye on him, but instead, he was continually praised anu financially rewarded. https://www.androidauthority.com/andy-rubin-scandal-google-918439/ 4/4 - • -- - - · -~ 0 MO_ , 0 . . . . . . . . , ... _ . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . , , , , . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . IO' ~ f;I""'''"'' 0 0 0 0 .............................. . BUSI NESS INSIDER Andy Rubin, the creator of Android, reportedly had bondage sex videos on his work computer, paid women for 'ownership relationships,• and allegedly pressured an employee into oral sex Nick Bastone 17h 000 Brian Ach/Getty GOOGL Alphabet-A 1,045.89 -14.11 (-1 .30 %) Get real-time GOOGL charts here » Disclaimer • On Thursday, The New York Times published more details about the allegation that led to Android founder Andy Rubin's dismissal from Google in 2014. • The Times reported that Rubin was found to have pressured a woman with whom he had an extramarital relationship into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013. httos:ltwww businesslnsJdec.comlaooole-ancfv·rubin.sexual· misoonduct·allGQations-nvt-2018· 10 1f7 ~·u uA\:t\. l'\llOy Kuom 1aces otm111 ttU Mi ~u a1 m1sconouct altegauons: N r 1 · i;usiness 1ns1oer • The Times also cited an incident when Google's security staff found bondage sex videos on Rubin's work computer and screenshots of messaged that alluded to the Android founder paying for "ownership relationships" with women. ../ • x Rubin's spokesperson told The Times that the Android founder did not partake in misconduct and that "any relationship that Mr. Rubin had while at Google was consensual and did not involve any person who reported directly to him." On Thursday, new details about Android fou nder Andy Rubi n's 2014 exit from Google came to light in a bombshell report by The New York Times. The report alleges the internet company paid him $90 million despite concluding that there was credibility to a sexual misconduct claim against him. According to The Times, Rubin was ultimately asked to leave Google after pressuring a woman (with whom he had an extramarital relationship) into performing oral sex in a hotel room in 2013. The two's relationship was cooling around the time of the incident, but the woman had been worried to cut things off in fear that doing so would affect her career, according to two company executives briefed on the relationship. Rubin was involved in other sexual incidents during his time at Google as well, according to the report. The report claims: • Rubin dated other women at Google while he was married according to four people who worked with him - including one woman on the Android team. • Google's security staff fou nd bondage sex videos on Rubin's work computer, according to three anonymous executives familiar with the incident. For that case, Rubi n's yearly bonus was dinged. • Rubin's ex-wife said he had multiple "ownership relationships" with other women during their marriage, paying them hund reds of thousands of dollars. Screenshots released in the couple's civil suit revealed Rubin telling one woman: "You will be happy being taken care of. Being owned is kind a like you are my property, and I can Joan you to other people." Rubin's spokesperson told The Times that the Android founder did not partake in misconduct and that "any relationship that Mr. Rubin had while at Google was consensual and did not involve any person who reported directly to him." httos:Jtwww.businessinsider.COITllaooole·andv·rubln·sexuat-misconduct·alleoatlOnS·nvt·201S.10 217 Upon Rubin's departure from Google in 2014, he was celebrated by Google's chief executive at the time, Larry Page. ./ x "I want to wish Andy all the best with what's next," Page said in a statement. "With Android he created something truly remarkable with a billion-plus happy users." In an email to employees on Thursday, CEO Sundar Pichai said the following: "In recent years, we've made a num ber of changes, including taking an increasingly hard line on inappropriate conduct by people in positions of authority: in the last two years, 48 people have been term inated for sexual harassment, including 13 who were senior managers and above. None of these ind ividuals received an exit package." Read the New York Times full report Get the latest Google stock price h ere. NOW WATCH: A Navy SEAL explains why you should get up at 4:30 am every day More: Google Android Taboola Feed The Highest Paying Cash back Card Has Hit The Market Sponsored by Wise Bread These Twins Were Named "Most Beautiful In The World," Wait Till You See Them Today Sponsored by Give It l ove httDs://w'oW1 bosinessinsider.com/QOOQle·andv·rubin·sexual-misconduct·allehockingly more efficient by internet technology. And some studies suggest that th e tech sector, overwhelmingly male and requiring long , lonely hours on computers, has more avid consumers of prostitution than many other fields. https://www. newsweek.com/metoo-microsoft-amazon-trafficking-prostitution-sex-silicon-valley-755611 3/11 11/5/2018 Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon a nd Microsoft Work Emails In the Seattle area, brothels even advertise their proximity to Microsoft headquarters on the Backpage.com site: "New Open Mind Asian Hot Sweet Pretty Face Nice Body Top Service (Bellevue-Redmond near Microsoft)." Or, "Certifiably Sexy Student Nuru Massage 69 Tongue Bath (Bellevue-Redmond Microsoft Access). A study commissioned by the Department of Justice found that Seattle has the fastestgrowing sex industry in the United States, more than doubling in size between 2005 and 2012. That boom correlates neatly with the boom of the tech sector there. It also correlates to the surge in high-paying jobs, since this "hobby" (the word johns use online to describe buying sex) can be expensive: Some of these men spent $30,000 to $50,000 a year, according to authorities. The tech sector has not only employed a significant number of men who pay for sex with trafficked women, it has also enabled traffickers to reach customers more easily and to hide their business from cops by taking it off the streets and into computers and ultimately, hotel rooms, motels or apartments. In one 24-hour-period in Seattle, an estimated 6,487 people solicited sex on just one of the more than 100 websites that connect buyers with sellers, according to a 2014 study. RELATED STORIES Senators Battle Tech Giants Over Sex Slaves and Russia 'Sex Trafficking Victim' Gets Support From Celebs We Can't Arrest Our Way Out of Sex Trafficking Scourge https://www.newsweek.com/metoo-microsoft-amazon-trafficking-prostitution-sex-silicon-valley-755611 4/11 11/5/2018 v.. .- Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Emails - ....,.,...... ,.4, . ... \~fllWI,,........ . . f· ~U(l()eeJ.t~ ........ I . . . . . . t-lC'.,. 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One aspect of the tech industry's bad behavior has received little attention: the widespread, nonchalant attitude toward buying sex from trafficked women using internet technology. BACKPAGE.COM The cache of emails shared with Newsweek date between 2014 and 2016, and included 67 sent from Microsoft, 63 sent from Amazon email accounts and dozens more sent from some of Seattle's premier tech companies and others based elsewhere but with offices in Seattle, :ricluding T-Mobile and Oracle, as well as many local, smaller tech firms. The men who sent .ne emails have not been charged, and Newsweek is not identifying them. Authorities have seized records from only a fraction of the area's hundreds of brothels and illicit massage parlors. A law enforcement source familiar with the cases says the emails reflect just a tiny percentage of the business tech sector men bring to brothels with names like Golden Blossom, AsianCandy777 and 7HeavenofAsia. Authorities also say that trafficked Asian women service hundreds of men each day in Seattle. They also report that each woman has sex with between 5 and 15 men a day. The women usually don't speak much English, and many communicate with their clients via phone translation apps. To get and retain customers, the women or their pimps advertise a variety of kinky or exotic "experiences," from pretending to be actual girlfriends of the client (the "GFE or girlfriend experience") to nude "Nuru" massage. Jne of the pimps netted in a review board sting in 2015 admitted that many of the women were in debt bondage and in fear for their lives or the safety of their families. https://www.newsweek.com/metoo-microsoft-amazon-trafficking-prostitution-sex-sllicon-valley-755611 5/11 11 /5/2018 Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Emails Police and prosecutors in the Seattle area began to focus on the prostitution "hobbyists" with a sting operation that targeted the operators of three online review boards on which up to 18,000 men rated and discussed a relatively small group of Korean women. On KGirlsDelight.com, for example , men assigned numerical ratings and added specific descriptions of the women, such as their sexual abilities, level of enthusiasm and other attributes. The site reportedly had 1.2 million monthly hits in 2009 (the last year its management publicly revealed numbers). The sting arrested 17 men and one woman, but only a director at Amazon and another director at Microsoft opted for a trial. The trial date has been repeatedly pushed back and is now scheduled for March 2018. None of the sex workers involved in those case were charged . The arrests angered libertarians and supporters of so-called sex workers who argue that most women sell sex by choice and that online review boards help keep women safe by providing a venue for warning women about dangerous men . But the Review Board's comments display a lack of compassion at best, and at worst a pervasive contempt for women. One commenter who had bragged about chaining a womar to a radiator publicly lamented that two of his favorites were leaving Bellevue. One Seattle woman reviewed on the board , Alisa Bernard , spoke to ABC News this year. (She called herself a Seattle prostitution survivor turned activist.) She got customers through the Review Board and believes review sites don't make things safer for sex workers. "There's a perception of safety because th ere's this, 'Oh, well , you have to go through this board, and it's online, and look how clean it is,'" Bernard said. "I had been raped multiple times. I was held against my will at least once. I was strangled, and th ese were all by Review Board guys so, you know, again, your line keeps getting pushed further and further and further to get those good reviews. " https://www.newsweek.com/metoo-microsoft-amazon-trafficking-prostitulion-sex-sllicon-valley-755611 6/11 Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Emails 11/5/2018 Online prostitution review boards are common in all major urban areas- they are the Yelp of the sex industry-but the Seattle boards were unusual in that men also gathered IRL (in real life, in tech parlance), calling th emselves The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, to compare notes about the women over drinks in public venues, making it easy for Seattle police to infiltrate and secretly videotape some off the proceedings. IN THE MAGAZINE COVER U.S. Russia May Have Already Hacked the 2018 Midterms NEW WORLD TECH & SCIENCE NASA Satellite to Show How Much, How Fast Seas Rise DOWNTIME CULTURE Director Sacha Gervasi on HBO's 'My Dinner With Herve' NEW WORLD TECH & SCIENCE Deadly Forces Sabotaging Elephant Protection in Chad DOWNTIME CULTURE Photographer Eva Sereny Captured Sets of Iconic Films https://www.newsweek.com/metoo-microsoft-amazon-trafficking-prostitution-sex-silicon-valley-755611 7/11 11/5/20 18 Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Ema ils DOWNLOADS WORLD How a Social Media Post in Russia Can Land You in Jail "She's as close to perfect as I think they get made," one man said, describing one of the Korean women. "Right after K-girls, I've always had this thing for Eastern Europeans," another said. "Like Czech, Hungarian, anyone from a war-torn country. Anything with 'will work for food ."' A day after Newsweek first contacted Microsoft for comment this week, an unknown number of Microsoft employees in Seattle received an email from Human Resources officials warning them: "Microsoft has been informed by the King County prosecutor's office that they have obtained records in connection with a criminal enforcement activity related to a brother engaged in prostitution." The Microsoft email informed recipients that law enforcement "may have obtained" businescards, badges and emails and links to a variety of company policies related to standards of business conduct and responsible use of technology. "You are urged to ensure that you have reviewed and complied with these company policies as well as criminal laws," wrote a Microsoft human resources official named Adrienne Day. A spokesman for Microsoft called the timing of the HR warning "coincidental" and denied it was related to the Newsweekinvestigation, although Microsoft had requested access to the records in October and received them in November, but only warned its employees this week. At a panel discussion on the issue in 2014, a King County prosecutor said the Seattle tech community is a major sex consumer-with the most frequent buyers middle- and upperclass white men. And a law enforcement source in Seattle told Newsweek that authorities know there is a concentration of buyers in tech , and that Seattle investigators have communicated with detectives in and around San Jose County, California, the jurisdiction that includes Silicon Valley. A study conducted by Polaris, a leading anti-human trafficking organization, found that morb than 700 Asian brothels (or "illicit massage parlors") are based in Silicon Valley, 20 percent https://www.newsweek .com/metoo-microsoft-amazon-trafficking-prostitution-sex-silicon-valley-7556 11 8/11 11/5/2018 Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Emails of the total number of brothels believed to be operating in California, although the area's population is just one-tenth of the state's total. \ccording to an ongoing study by the Organization of Prostitution Survivors in Seattle, reported on last year by a local news website, 63 percent of prostituted people said they met clients on company properties. Alex Trouteaud, director of Policy and Research at Demand Abolition, another national antitrafficking organization, said the tech sector is a "culture that has readily embraced trafficking ." As an example of the industry's nonchalant attitude, he recalled that in its early days, Uber published a blog post that analyzed their data on ride sharing, focused on the Bay Area, and included people who were paying for prostitution. "They made a map using their ride-share data , like it was a funny thing they could do with their data. It was done so flippantly," Trouteaud said . John Tymczyszyn, a lawyer for some of the Microsoft employees who received the Microsoft warning this week, said his clients-who have not been charged and were not involved in the 2015 sting but have been frequenting brothels whose computers authorities have seized -were alarmed. "I think anybody that received this email out of the blue would be, you know, scared that there would be career if not criminal repercussions," he said. Tymczyszyn, who also represents other sex buyers in the Seattle area, questioned the judgement of men who used work emails from one of the most cyber-secure companies in the world to buy sex, but he says Seattle's tech giants don't conduct any sort of training to increase employees' awareness about or compassion for trafficked women in brothels. A spokesman for Microsoft emailed Newsweek the following statement: "Microsoft has a long history of cooperating with law enforcement and other agencies on combating sex trafficking and related topics, and we have employees who volunteer their time and money specifically to combat this issue as well. The personal conduct of a tiny fraction of our 125,000 employees does not in any way represent our culture. No organization is immune to the unfortunate situation when employees act unethically or illegally. When that happens, we look into the conduct and take appropriate action. Microsoft makes it clear to our employees they have a responsibility to act with integrity and conduct themselves in a legal and ethical manner at all times. If they don't, they risk losing their jobs." https://www.newsweek.com/metoo-microsoft-amazon-trafficking-prostltution-sex-silicon-valley-755611 9/11 11/5/2018 Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Emails What Silicon Valle Thin-- of Women The tech sector's many problems with women-from notoriously hostile workplaces and quotidian sexual harassment to CE Os with histories of violence against women- have been widely reported for years, including this Newsweek cover story. NEWSWEEK When Newsweek sought comment from Amazon this week, a spokeswoman first asked to see the emails sent by Amazon employees (unlike Microsoft, Amazon had apparently not requested the emails from authorities). Newsweek shared an Excel list with the senders' names redacted, and when the spokeswoman said she couldn't comment without seeing more, Newsweekemailed one full email. https://www.newsweek.com/metoo-microsoft-amazon-trafficking-prostitution-sex-silicon-valley-755611 10/1 1 11 /5/2018 Tech Bros Bought Sex Trafficking Victims by Using Amazon and Microsoft Work Emails Today, Amazon informed Newsweek that it is "investigating" the matter and provided this statement by email : "Amazon's Owner's Manual clearly states that, 'It is against Amazon 's policy for any employee or Contingent Worker to engage in any sex buying activities of any ind in Amazon's workplace or in any work-related setting outside of the workplace, such as during business trips, business meetings or business-related social events.' When Amazon suspects that an employee has used company funds or resources to engage in criminal conduct, the company will immediately investigate and take appropriate action up to and including termination. The company may also refer the matter to law enforcement." Seattle authorities broke up the review boards in 2015 but did not arrest the women rated on them . They have since disappeared from the Seattle area, according to Robert Beiser, executive director of Seattle Against Slavery, a volunteer organization that works with trafficked women. "They were in debt and they tried to get out and they were afraid. In terms of where they have ended up, criminal enterprises stretch across countries, and can harm these people and their families, and the idea that they would disappear makes sense." Beiser added that Asian women are "a fetish for buyers." pdate: This article has been updated with new information from a study. https://www.newsweek.com/metoo-microsoft-amazon-trafficking-prostitution-sex-silicon-valley-7 55611 11/11 11 /5/2018 Why is Silicon Valley fighting a sex trafficking bill? I Law I The Guardian Th~. Guaru1an Why is Silicon Valley fighting a sex trafficl