A former Google executive has claimed that he was fired by the tech giant for rejecting Asian his female boss' advances when she allegedly groped him at a plush dinner, which later prompted her to accuse him of "microaggressions." Ryan Olohan, 48, has alleged that his former boss Tiffany Miller rubbed his abdominals and told him he had a nice body.
According to a blockbuster November federal lawsuit filed in Manhattan, Olohan, a married New Jersey father-of-seven, has accused Miller of groping him at a Chelsea restaurant in December 2019 and told him she knew he liked Asian women. However, Olohan declined her advances, following which Millain complained against him and he was fired.
Double Victim of Sexual Harassment
A lawsuit was filed in November alleging that Miller¸ director of Google's programmatic media, rubbed the abdominals of Olohan and told him he had a good body, and that her marriage lacked "spice," the New York Post reported.
Miller, who is Asian, told Olohan that she knew his affinity for Asian women referring to his wife is also Asian.
The alleged hands-on meeting allegedly took place at Fig & Olive on West 13th Street during a drunken business gathering soon after Olohan was promoted to the rank of managing director of food, beverages, and restaurants and joined a new management group that included Miller in Google's Manhattan offices, claims the lawsuit.
According to court documents, Olohan claimed he was originally reluctant to discuss the incident since so many of his employees were drunk. However, his colleagues later explained the behavior as "Tiffany being Tiffany."
Olohan claimed that nothing ever came of the complaint after reporting the incident to Google's human resources division., according to the outlet.
According to the lawsuit, the HR representative "openly admitted... that if the complaint was 'in reverse' — a female accusing a white male of harassment — the complaint would certainly be escalated," according to the lawsuit.
Olohan alleges that Miller started reporting him to human resources for "microaggressions" as retaliation against him. He claims that after 16 years with the organization, harassment continued up until his termination in August 2022.
Punished for Refusing Boss
Understandably, Olohan now claims himself to be a victim of a bigger conspiracy for refusing his boss. Olohan claims that there were supervisors present on two occasions referenced in the lawsuit where Miller allegedly criticized him and reported him to human resources for "microaggressions."
Miller was "being petty" in both cases, according to Google's Human Resources Business Partner Jacky Schiestel, while Olohan did not engage in any microaggressions.
Olohan claimed that Miller's reprisals and hostility gave him anxiety and gave him the impression that he was on probation.
Miller allegedly insulted and abused Olohan in front of his colleagues during a Google-hosted event in December 2021 as part of the retaliation. According to the lawsuit, the tension was so high that Miller's colleagues encouraged her to sit at the opposite end of the table.
Miller later apologized, but according to the lawsuit, "although Google was aware that Miller's continued harassment of Olohan stemmed from his rejection of her sexual advances, it again took no action."
Court documents state that Miller repeatedly reprimanded Olohan while intoxicated at a company gathering at a karaoke bar in April 2022, mocking him upon his arrival and retreating that she knew he preferred Asian women to white women --- knowing that Olohan's wife is Asian.
In June 2022, Olohan was told by Schiestel that a worker had complained to Human Resources about him. About three weeks later, Olohan told Schiestel that Miller had ordered the complaint to be filed as revenge for him rejecting her sexual advances.
According to the lawsuit, Olohan was instructed to only hire female candidates for the team in June and was encouraged to remove a male employee in July to create way for a woman on his team.
Olohan was fired the following month after working for Google for 16 years.
Olohan claimed that during a videoconference conversation, a member of the Google Employee Investigations team informed him that he was being dismissed for not being "inclusive."
Olohan is now the executive vice president of expansion of Klick Group after being fired. He also runs an ice cream parlor in New Jersey.
The Google Employee Investigations team explained that he had been favoring high performers and his behavior has been "non-inclusive,'and commented on employees' walking pace and hustle, which it considered 'ableist."
Both Google and Miller are named as defendants in the case, which accuses them of engaging in discrimination, retaliation, and creating a hostile work environment and asks for unspecified damages.
