Following the revelations of a $128 million golden parachute to Andy Rubin, a former Google executive accused of sexually harassing a subordinate, a recently unsealed complaint shows the company approved a further $64 million send-off to Amit Singhal, the company’s former senior vice president.
Filed in Santa Clara County by James Martin, a Google shareholder, the complaint confirms much of what was reported by the New York Times last October. Employee outrage over the generous packages gifted to Rubin — which also included $213 million in stock — sparked a mass walkout, which has thus far led to a few changes in how the company structures its contracts with employees. For his part, Martin’s gripe is that the payouts (and failure to disclose the reason for the departure of these executives) constitutes a breach of fiduciary duty.
The suit claims both the cash and stock grants to Rubin and that “Larry Page made the decision to approve the $150 [$AU213] million in equity awards directly, by himself, without the prior approval or involvement of the Board or LDCC [Leadership, Development and Compensation Committee].”
Singhal, on the other hand, was accused of groping an employee in 2015 while inebriated at a “boozy” party “attended by dozens of colleagues.” He agreed to resign, an in return received a $64 million exit package and an agreement not to work for a competitor. The suit claims: “The LDCC continued its practice of covering up the real reason forSinghal’s departure by describing Singhal’s departure as follows: ‘On 26‐Feb‐16, Amit Singhal (SVP, Search) left Google to focus on philanthropic activities.’”
Singhal later took on an executive position with Uber and was dismissed after it was revealed he’d failed to disclose the investigation into his alleged misconduct. According to the newly unsealed documents, Google ultimately paid him $21 million, bringing the total cash payout to Rubin and Singhal to $149 million.
Google did not yet respond to our request for comment.