Google has settled a $50 million lawsuit that alleged the tech giant discriminated against Black employees.
Reuters reports that a preliminary settlement was reached on May 8 in Oakland federal court, covering over 4,000 Google employees in California and New York. It now awaits judicial approval. Despite agreeing to the settlement, Google denied any wrongdoing and maintains that it fully complied with all applicable laws.
“We strongly disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone improperly and we remain committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees consistently,” Google spokeswoman Courtenay Mencini wrote in an emailed statement.
The lawsuit comes three years after the California Civil Rights Department launched an investigation into Google’s treatment of Black female employees in 2022. The tech giant was accused of fostering a “racially biased corporate culture” where Black employees were steered into lower-level roles, paid less, received lower performance evaluations, and were denied opportunities for advancement.
The lawsuit states that in 2021, Black Google employees made up just 4.4% of the company’s overall workforce and only 3% of its leadership. Plaintiff April Curley, who was hired to strengthen outreach to historically Black colleges, claims she faced repeated discrimination during her six-year tenure.
According to the lawsuit, Curley was denied promotions, labeled an “angry” Black woman, and ultimately fired while she was preparing a report on the company’s alleged racial bias. Additional complaints allege that Google managers spoke down to Black employees, claiming they weren’t “Googley” enough or lacked “Googleyness,” terms the plaintiffs described as racial dog whistles.
Curley and fellow plaintiffs Desiree Mayon, Ronkia Lewis, Rayna Reid, Anim Aweh, and Ebony Thomas will share in the settlement. Attorneys representing the group are expected to request $12.5 million in legal fees for their work on the case. Renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump served as one of the lead attorneys.
The settlement comes two months after Google reached a $28 million settlement over racial pay disparities. Under the racial bias agreement, Google will “continue to analyze pay to identify unexplained differences based on race,” and will”maintain well-publicized methods for employees to report concerns related to the terms and conditions of their employment,” the court filing said.
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