A former video producer for Google has settled a lawsuit that claimed he was fired after he complained {that a} non secular sect had gained a foothold inside a enterprise unit of the corporate.
Kevin Lloyd, 34, stated within the go well with that he had been fired after complaining that the Fellowship of Mates, a non secular group primarily based within the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, dominated a enterprise unit referred to as Google Developer Studios, which makes movies showcasing the corporate’s applied sciences.
The go well with claimed that the chief of the enterprise unit — Peter Lubbers, a longtime member of the Fellowship of Mates — employed most of the non secular group’s members onto the crew as contractors, helped some advance to full-time positions and gave work to many others when staffing firm conferences and events.
Google confirmed on Monday that the go well with had been resolved. It additionally confirmed that Mr. Lubbers was not employed by Google, although it declined to clarify his departure. Mr. Lubber couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
Mr. Lloyd final 12 months introduced the go well with in opposition to each Google and Superior Techniques Group, or ASG, a staffing firm that introduced him into Google as a contractor. It accused each corporations of violating a California employment regulation that protects staff from discrimination.
The go well with raised questions on Google’s dependence on contract staff, who now outnumber full-time staff inside the corporate. Most of Mr. Lloyd’s crew joined the corporate by ASG as contractors, together with many members of the Fellowship.
Mr. Lloyd agreed to settle the go well with final week. Phrases of the settlement — which was between Mr. Lloyd and ASG — weren’t disclosed.
Based by a former schoolteacher named Robert Earl Burton in 1970, the Fellowship of Mates describes itself as “obtainable to anybody excited about pursuing the non secular work of awakening.” It claims about 1,500 members all over the world, together with roughly 500 in and round Oregon Home, Calif., a tiny city about 180 miles north of Google’s Silicon Valley headquarters.
Mr. Burton believed individuals might obtain a better consciousness by embracing the advantageous arts. Over the many years, he cultivated an extravagant way of life with assist from his followers, who typically donated 10 p.c of their month-to-month earnings to the group.
In 1984, a former member filed a lawsuit claiming that younger males who joined the group “had been forcefully and unlawfully sexually seduced by Burton.” In 1996, one other former member accused Mr. Burton of sexual misconduct with him when he was a minor. Each fits have been settled out of courtroom.
In 2008, Catherine Jones, Mr. Lloyd’s lawyer in his go well with in opposition to Google and ASG, gained the same go well with in opposition to the staffing firm Kelly Providers. With the go well with, a former Kelly worker claimed the corporate failed to advertise her as a result of, not like many co-workers, she was not a member of the Fellowship. A courtroom awarded her $6.5 million in damages.
Earlier than taking a job at Google and working the Google Developer Studios, Mr. Lubbers labored at Kelly Providers.