Google summoned to French Labour Court

The Labour Court in Paris judged that it has jurisdiction over two cases concerning Executives of Google France: one for unfair dismissal, and the other for unfair inducement of resignation. The Court has set hearing dates for September 21 and November 18. OWNI contacted Lionel Paraire, the lawyer for the two plaintiffs, who confirmed the reality of the two procedures but refused to comment further. Likewise the management at Google France’s headquarters does not want to dwell on the subject. Spokeswoman Anne-Gabrielle-Dauba Pantanacce responded to out inquiries with a typical response:

We can’t comment on legal information.

According to the documents, one of the allegations came from the former Commercial Manager for Google France. He formerly led the DoubleClick Commercial Department, the giant Internet advertising company that was acquired by Google in March 2008. Approximately 25 employees at Doubleclick France joined Google’s staff – and then were pushed towards the exit. A judge specializing in labour laws will determine whether it’s an unfair maneuver.

In the meantime, the Court’s judges indicated that Google’s management is distinguished by certain strange practices. They cite the case of a former Executive of Human Resources at Google France: David X left the company in 2009 with significant compensation in exchange for avoiding a troublesome legal procedure. This was proven in the litigation document dated June 16, 2009 between Google France and David, who served for as the Director of Recruitment in Europe for a significant period of time.

The document, signed by a Google representative, claims the company agreed to pay compensation to the former member of the Human Resources Department:

€ 77,000 for damages suffered due to his dismissal

In Court’s archives, the incident did not appear to be an isolated case. On November 20, 2008, a judge sentenced Google to pay €30,000 to their former Coordinator of Sales whose reasons for termination are unclear to the general public.

Nearly 180 people work at Google France, but it’s only a handful compared to the search engine’s activity throughout the Francophone world. Most of the income is managed by “several hundred French bases located in Ireland,” according to a Google spokesperson. The country’s shareholders enjoy “performance” in terms of labor laws. Why not relocate to a country where it’s easier to transfer profits to a tax haven without the risk of a trial?