The ex-Googler's fight raises a question every HR leader should be asking right now
A federal judge has sided with Google, blocking a key deposition in a former male employee's gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit.
The ruling, issued by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, may not have settled the case – but it drew a clear line around how far plaintiffs can reach into the upper ranks of a corporation when building a discrimination claim.
The case was brought by Marco Meier, a former Google employee who was terminated on April 17, 2024. Meier alleges that Google and his former direct supervisor, Marta Martinez, subjected him to gender-based discrimination and retaliation over the course of his employment. He claims he was assigned inferior work, given unfair performance reviews, passed over for promotions, and ultimately terminated. Martinez supervised Meier directly from 2019 to 2022.
Meier sued Google and Martinez under federal and New York anti-discrimination laws, and the case is currently in its fact-gathering phase – with depositions underway and discovery set to close on March 4, 2026.
The dispute that landed before the court last month centered on one name: Sean Downey, Google's President for Americas and Global Partners. Meier wanted to put Downey under oath, arguing that the executive sat at the very center of his discrimination claims. He pointed to two emails he had received from Downey —...
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