Google faces age discrimination claim

Internet
search company Google is facing an age discrimination lawsuit after a former
executive claimed he was sacked because he did not fit its youthful corporate
culture.

In
a case filed last week in the California Superior Court, 54-year-old Brian Reid
charges that Google routinely discriminates against employees over the age of
40 in its recruiting, hiring and employment practices.

Reid
contends that he was terminated from his position as director of operations
based on his age and ongoing health issues related to diabetes.

Lawyers
for Reid said that Google executives overlook age discrimination laws in an
effort to foster a corporate environment that emphasises "youth and
energy".

The
strategy has led to a workforce with an average age of under 30, and less than
2 per cent of employees aged over 40, according to the claim.

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Google,
which employed around 1,600 people in 2003, said that Reid’s claim was
"without merit", and that it plans to "defend itself
vigorously" against the charges.

By Daniel Thomas