Google is known for its close-knit — and sometimes secretive — company culture, but no one would doubt the actual cult that goes on behind the scenes. Well, that’s exactly what a Google contractor claims, as detailed in this unusual report. new York Times,
Kevin Lloyd, a contractor hired to work as a video producer for Google Developer Studios (GDS), accuses at least 12 members of an obscure religious sect for GDS and unfair treatment of the work environment. level effect. Lloyd claims he was unfairly fired for misrepresenting the group’s behavior and that he was wrongfully charged with termination, retaliation, emotional distress, and discrimination against Google and his contracting agency ASG. case has been filed against.
The religious group in question is known as the Fellowship of Friends. according to Times, The Fellowship “believes that higher consciousness can be achieved by embracing fine arts and culture” and is a 1,200-acre campus in Oregon House, California. The group has also become the subject of an investigative Spotify podcast that promises to reveal its “dark secrets.”
Longtime Fellowship member Peter Lubers leads GDS and has brought on several other Fellowship members, including video producer Gabe Panell. Times notes.
But things get even weirder than that — the Times‘ Reports indicate that fellowship members play a role in Google’s company events, “working at the registration desk, taking pictures, playing music, getting massages and serving alcohol.” Google reportedly buys the wines served at these events from a winery run by a member of the fellowship. In addition, Lloyd’s lawsuit claims that Google “paid for a state-of-the-art sound system installed in the Oregon house of a fellowship member who worked for the team as a sound designer.”
Times says it confirmed some of these allegations after speaking with eight current and former Google employees, as well as looking at publicly available documents documenting the list of fellowship members, event photos and event budgets. Includes spreadsheet.
Another contractor, Erik Johansson, told Times That Google’s partnership with ASG enabled the GDS team to bring more fellowship members on board, as contractors are hired “with far less scrutiny and a far less rigorous on-boarding process.” The Alphabet Workers’ Union (AWU) has also protested possible abuse of Google’s contract system by managers. in a thread on twitter,
Lloyd’s complaints about the presence of the religious group were reportedly met with indifference – he claims he was fired without reason immediately after complaining. Google has responded by denying Lloyd’s claims about discrimination at the company, saying he was fired for performance issues.
If you want to read the full story in more detail, this report is worth a look new York Times, Lloyd also summed up the experience in his own words, which you can find in his post on Medium.