A court of appeal in October ruled that a jury should determine if Brian Reid has evidence that Google routinely paid smaller bonuses and gave poorer performance reviews to older managers.

On Wednesday, the state high court said it would review that decision.

The Mountain View-based company has denied Reid's allegations but also refuses to say why he was fired. In court documents, the company said Reid was fired when the program he managed was canceled.

Reid sued Google in July 2004, five months after he lost his job as its director of operations.