Google has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class action lawsuit that accused the tech giant of systemic racial discrimination against Black employees. The proposed settlement, which still requires judicial approval, was filed late Thursday in a federal court in Oakland, California, and would apply to over 4,000 current and former employees based in California and New York.
The lawsuit alleged that Google fostered a “racially biased corporate culture” in which Black staff were routinely placed in lower-level roles, paid less than their peers, received downgraded performance reviews, and were denied career advancement opportunities.
The claims were led by April Curley, a former Google employee who was hired to improve outreach to historically Black colleges. Curley said the company failed to promote her, stereotyped her as an “angry” Black woman, and dismissed her after six years as she was preparing a report on racial discrimination within the firm. The lawsuit further alleged that Google managers used culturally loaded language, labelling some Black employees as not “Googley” enough or lacking in “Googleyness”—terms which the plaintiffs described as racial dog whistles.
In 2021, Black employees represented only 4.4% of Google’s total workforce and just 3% of leadership roles, according to the complaint.
Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., has denied any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement while maintaining that it acted lawfully. In a statement, spokesperson Courtenay Mencini said, “We strongly disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone improperly and we remain committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees consistently.”
The case, which began in March 2022 following an investigation by the California Civil Rights Department (formerly known by another name), marks a significant development in ongoing scrutiny of diversity practices in Silicon Valley. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs may seek up to $12.5 million in legal fees from the settlement fund. On Monday, they dropped separate claims made on behalf of job applicants, citing both their findings and what they described as Google’s “reasoned arguments.”
The legal proceedings are filed under Curley et al v Google LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.