Google has settled a racial bias lawsuit with its Black employees to the tune of $50 million.
On Thursday, May 8, a preliminary settlement for over 4,000 current and former Google employees in California and New York was filed in the Oakland, California, Federal Court, and is awaiting a judge’s approval, Reuters reported.
The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit named “Curley et al v Google LLC” have accused the tech giant of fostering a “racially biased corporate culture” where management pushes Black employees towards lower-level jobs, pays them less, scores their performance ratings lower, and further denies them opportunities for advancement.
Fox News reported that a lead plaintiff, April Curley, alleges that supervisors stereotyped her as an “angry Black woman.” According to her, no action was taken to remedy the situation even after multiple complaints were made to the company’s HR. She further alleges she was passed over for promotions and that she was fired after six years as she was preparing to report the company’s racial bias.
On December 21, 2020, Curley revealed her termination and the reason she alleges was behind it in a thread on X.
“I’m finna tell yall why [Google] fired me—their MOST successful diversity recruiter in the history of their company—with the receipts to support that statement,” she wrote before detailing her experiences during her tenure and some of the barriers she immediately faced.
It is also alleged that managers criticized Black employees by claiming they were not “Googley” enough or were lacking in “Googleyness,” which the plaintiffs felt were racial dog whistles.
Meanwhile, Google has denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, and said 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 said in an emailed statement to Reuters.
Curley, joined by plaintiffs Desiree Mayon, Ronkia Lewis, Rayna Reid, Anim Aweh, and Ebony Thomas, first brought the suit against Google in 2022, with the civil rights attorney Ben Crump among the members of their legal team.
