Google has reached a settlement with Black employees who alleged systemic racial disparities in hiring, pay, and advancement in a lawsuit filed in 2022. The settlement does not constitute an admission of liability by Google.
April Curley, a former Google employee, sued the tech giant for racial discrimination, alleging the company engages in a "pattern and practice" of unfair treatment for its Black workers. The suit claimed Google steered Black employees into lower-level and lower-paid jobs and subjected them to a hostile work environment if they spoke out. Other former Google workers joined the suit, which later received class action status.
According to the 2022 lawsuit, Google viewed Black job candidates "through harmful racial stereotypes" and hiring managers deemed Black candidates "not 'Googly' enough, a plain dog whistle for race discrimination". The suit also alleged that interviewers "hazed" and undermined Black candidates and hired Black candidates into lower-paying and lower-level roles with less advancement potential based on their race and racial stereotypes.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represented the plaintiffs, said in a statement: "This case is about accountability, plain and simple. For far too long, Black employees in the tech industry have faced barriers that limit opportunity. This settlement is a significant step toward holding one of the world's most powerful companies accountable and making clear that discriminatory practices cannot and will not be tolerated".
The lawsuit echoes years of complaints from Black employees at the company, including prominent artificial intelligence scholar Timnit Gebru, who said she was pushed out in 2020 after a dispute over a research paper examining the societal dangers of an emerging branch of artificial intelligence.
As part of the settlement, Google has committed to pay equity analyses, pay transparency measures, and limits on mandatory arbitration for employment-related disputes through at least August 2026. Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
