A former executive at Google is suing the tech giant, claiming he was fired after reporting an Asian female boss' inappropriate conduct.
In his lawsuit, ex-managing director of food, beverages, and restaurants Ryan Olohan alleged that director of programmatic media Tiffany Miller became retaliatory after he rejected her advances at a December 2019 function. He claims that his concerns were dismissed by human resources, and that the company instead went after him with baseless accusations that eventually led to his termination.
According to the New York Post, Olahan accused Miller of rubbing his abs, commenting on his body, and telling him that her marriage lacked "spice" while the pair were out with colleagues for a dinner at Fig & Olive, a ritzy restaurant in New York City.
Olahan said when he brought the incident up, co-workers laughed it off, suggesting it was just an example of "Tiffany being Tiffany." Attempts to get human resources involved also came up fruitless, though Olahan alleged in his November 2022 lawsuit that the HR representative "openly admitted … that if the complaint was 'in reverse' — a female accusing a white male of harassment — the complaint would certainly be escalated."
Over the following months, Olahan alleged, Miller became retaliatory, accusing him of "microaggressions" and berating him publicly on numerous occasions, most of which involved alcohol. She often focused on the fact that Olahan's wife, with whom he has seven children, is Asian, suggesting he had a preference for a particular race.
Olahan was then told by his supervisor that there were "obviously too many white guys" on his team, and pushed him to fire one so a woman could be hired to take their place. Soon after, the sixteen-year veteran was fired.
Olahan claimed that he was told in a video call with the Google Employee Investigations team that he had not been "inclusive" enough for preferring high-performing employees and commenting on people's "walking pace."
Lawyers for Miller, who is also listed as a defendant in Olahan's suit, have denied all the accusations, deeming the lawsuit to be "a fictional account of events filled with numerous falsehoods."
