Lawsuit accuses Google of firing exec after he rejected female boss’s groping advances
A former Google executive has sued the tech giant over claims that he was fired after allegedly being groped by a high-ranking female colleague at a company dinner.
Ryan Olohan, a 48-year-old married father of seven from New Jersey, accused Google of firing him after he refused top executive Tiffany Miller’s alleged advances at a New York City restaurant in December 2019.
The lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages, has named both Google and Miller as defendants, accusing them of discrimination, retaliation and fostering a hostile work environment.
Miller, who is the director of Google’s programmatic media, allegedly rubbed Olohan’s abs, complimented his physique and told him his marriage lacked “spice,” according to court papers.
The incident allegedly occurred during a drunken company gathering at Fig & Olive on West 13th Street after Olohan was promoted to managing director of food, beverages and restaurants. He joined a new management team that included Miller in Google’s Manhattan offices.
Olohan then reported the incident to Google’s human resources (HR) department the following week, but there was no further discussion or investigation into the incident.
According to the lawsuit, an HR rep “openly admitted … that if the complaint was ‘in reverse’ — a female accusing a white male of harassment — the complaint would certainly be escalated.”
Following the report, Olohan claimed that Miller began retaliating against him by criticizing him and reporting him to HR for “microaggressions.”
The alleged retaliation then continued at other company events in December 2021 and April 2022 when Miller drunkenly berated Olohan in front of his colleagues.
She also allegedly told Olohan that she knew he liked Asian women, referring to herself and his wife, who are both of Asian descent.
“Although Google was aware that Miller’s continued harassment of Olohan stemmed from his rejection of her sexual advances, it again took no action,” the lawsuit claims.
This lawsuit is a fictional account of events filled with numerous falsehoods, fabricated by a disgruntled ex-employee, who was senior to Ms. Miller at Google. Ms. Miller never made any “advance” toward Mr. Olohan, which witnesses can readily corroborate.
In July 2022, Olohan’s supervisor Adam Stewart allegedly encouraged him to fire a male employee to make room on his team for a woman.
Stewart allegedly told Olohan that there were “obviously too many white guys” on his management team.
The tech giant then fired Olohan the following month, ending his employment after 16 years at the company.
In a video conference call, Olohan was told by the Google Employee Investigations team that he was being fired because he was not “inclusive,” the lawsuit claims.
In response to Olohan’s request during the call for specifics as to why Google believed he was not inclusive, Google’s Employee Investigations team explained that he had shown favoritism towards high performers, which it considered ‘non-inclusive,’ and commented on employees’ walking pace and hustle, which it considered ‘ableist.’
Following his firing, Olohan, who also owns an ice cream shop in New Jersey, reportedly joined the Klick Group as the executive vice president of growth.
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