In a lawsuit that seems to fault Google’s vice president of national sales more than the company itself, a former Manhattan sales executive is alleging some nasty charges of misconduct while she was pregnant with quadruplets.
The suit was filed July 18th by Christina Elwell, former national sales director for Google Inc., with the blessing of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
After telling her boss, VP of national sales Timothy Armstrong, that she was pregnant with quadruplets and would no longer be able to travel, Elwell alleges she subsequently experienced a demotion, was called a human relations nightmare, and eventually forced out of the company without severance pay and lesser commission pay.
According to the suit, Elwell rose to her position as national sales director in 2003, after just three years of exemplary performance. She was so good at her job that at a meeting of Google salespersons in early 2004, Elwell was credited for a significant contribution to the company’s efforts to go public.
But Elwell says the love and appreciation showed her by Armstrong came to an abrupt end after telling him she was pregnant with quadruplets and due to accompanying medical conditions would be unavailable to travel for a few weeks.
Shortly after losing two of those unborn children, Armstrong showed Elwell an organizational chart that was noticeably missing Elwell’s position. Armstrong informed her of his intentions to transfer her to a position he would create in the operations division, a move Elwell viewed as a “significant demotion.” Armstrong reportedly told colleagues the transfer was because she could not travel.
A conciliatory Elwell offered to self-demote herself to Director of East Coast sales allowing her to travel by train and car. Agreeing and then soon after reneging, Armstrong promoted to that position a man Elwell herself had hired and deemed less qualified with no Internet sales experience.
After calling Elwell “an HR nightmare” in June, Armstrong expressed that he no longer wanted her at the New York office. The next day he fired her over the telephone claiming he had a “gut feeling” it was “the right thing to do.”
A few weeks later, Google’s human resources department informed Elwell she had been fired improperly. Just days after that, Elwell lost the third of her unborn quadruplets.
Hoping to retain employment at Google, Elwell accepted the position offered her, which she said had the same level of responsibility as a summer intern. At the same sales meetings she used to run, she now only attended and was ignored by Armstrong.
About a month after a doctor required Elwell to go on disability leave to not risk losing her fourth unborn child, she received a commission check for the second quarter “substantially less than Elwell was entitled to receive.” The drop in commission was due to Armstrong lowering her performance rating.
Elwell eventually gave birth to one child during disability leave and returned to work in January of 2005. After being notified she would not be returning to her former position, but still working at the low-level operations position, Elwell was “constructively discharged,” meaning work conditions were too intolerable to remain employed.
The suit charges several counts, most of which involve discrimination, retaliation, intentional emotional distress, and interference with contractual or advantageous business relations.
So far, Armstrong has yet to comment on his side of the case. Google has stated that the charges are “without merit” and will fight the lawsuit “vigorously.”
