Google agreed to pay $US135m to top execs accused of sex harassment, says suit

Google agreed to pay $190m to two top executives who left after being accused of sexual harassment, a lawsuit alleges.

Google agreed to pay Amit Singhal about $US45m, according to a lawsuit. Pic: AP

Google, according to a lawsuit, agreed to pay $US135 million ($A190m) in exit packages to two top executives who left the company after being accused of sexual harassment and covered up the reasons for their departures.

The former executives, Andy Rubin and Amit Singhal, oversaw some of the company’s most important and profitable arms. Mr Rubin, who left in 2014, created the company’s crucial Android software, while Mr Singhal, who departed in 2016, headed search.

Mr Rubin was accused by a subordinate of pressuring her into oral sex, among other claims, according to the lawsuit. Mr Singhal was accused by a female employee of groping her at a “boozy off-site event,” according to a complaint filed in a lawsuit unsealed overnight. The board of Google’s parent, now called Alphabet, approved the payments with little dissent, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint, which cites information from Google, says the company agreed to pay Mr Singhal about $US45 million, the first time that number has been made public. It only ended up paying $US15 million because Mr Singhal later joined a competitor.

The former executives didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. The New York Times last year reported the amount of some payouts, including $US90 million to Mr Rubin.

Google's Andy Rubin at an event in 2011.

A Google spokeswoman said in a statement: “There are serious consequences for anyone who behaves inappropriately at Google. In recent years, we’ve made many changes to our workplace and taken an increasingly hard line on inappropriate conduct by people in positions of authority.”

The public disclosure of the payments came in a civil shareholder lawsuit filed in California Superior Court that alleges Google schemed to cover up persistent sexual harassment and discrimination. Google provided the information about executive payments and board deliberations in response to the suit.

The payouts put a fresh exclamation point on the simmering issue of gender equality and sexual harassment in Silicon Valley. The technology world employs a relative paucity of female executives, and a tiny fraction of venture-capital money goes to woman-led companies, research indicates.

Google employees in November staged a high-profile global walkout to protest a workplace culture that they said was unsafe for women. The company subsequently made changes including committing to end a requirement for employee sexual-harassment claims to be handled in private arbitration.

The spokeswoman wouldn’t comment on whether Google paid severance to or settlements for additional executives besides Messrs. Rubin and Singhal.

Dow Jones Newswires