From the outset, LaJeunesse, who was responsible for much of Google's human rights programming at the time, said he was baffled by the activity.
Not only was he offended by the undertaking, but being the most senior participant in the room, he said he also felt a responsibility to take action.
He went to HR and asked that they address the issue and speak with employees, and in particular the worker who was left in tears over the incident, about the events he said unfolded that day.
Before the company took any action, however, the former head of international relations was accidentally copied in on an email thread, which has been seen by Newsweek, in which an HR member pointed out that LaJeunesse had previously raised concerns about Google diversity programming before questioning whether he might have fished for complaints about the September activity.
When the intended recipient, who had accidentally copied LaJeunesse into the thread realized the error, they apologized and offered assurance that the issue was being looked into.
When he took action and hired counsel, he said Google told him that there had been a misunderstanding and that the company had wanted to offer him another role as a foreign policy institutions leader.
Instead of taking it, the former Google executive decided it was time to walk, telling Newsweek that he felt the technology giant had shuffled him out of his role during its reorganization because higher-ups had grown tired of his dissent.
With each controversy that surrounded Google, including its decision to work on Project Dragonfly, an effort to launch a censored search platform in China, and Project Maven, providing technology to the Pentagon to support drone use, LaJeunesse said he felt the heat rise.
Original article