Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – Google has been accused of having a systemic racial bias towards Black employees in bringing a lawsuit against it. The suit alleges that Google steers Black workers to low-level positions, pay them less, and prevents them from advancing because they are of their race.

Google, according to a class-action complaint, has a “racially biased corporate environment” where white men dominate, with Black employees making up just 4.4%, and about 3%, of its leadership and tech workforce.

April Curley, the plaintiff also stated that Alphabet (NASDAQ) Inc placed Blacks in a hostile environment by requiring them often to produce identification and be questioned by security personnel at its Mountain View campus, California.

Google didn’t immediately reply to our requests for comment.

In San Jose, California, the complaint was filed.

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing in the state was investigating Google’s treatment of Black women workers and any discrimination at work.

Curley claimed that Google employed her to create an outreach program for historically Black colleges in 2014.

According to her, her hiring was a marketing ploy. Supervisors started degrading her work and stereotyping her Black woman as “angry”. They then promoted her.

Curley stated that Google fired Curley on September 20, 2020. She and her fellow workers had begun working together to create a list with reforms she wanted.

Curley’s attorney Ben Crump stated in a statement that “Google claims they are looking for diversity. However, they were undervaluing, mistreating and underpaying their Black employees.”

Crump is an attorney for civil rights who represented George Floyd’s loved ones after George was shot to death by Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis Police Officer.

Curley is suing Google to recover punitive and compensatory damages, as well as lost compensation, for former and current Black employees. It also seeks to reinstate them in their proper positions and seniority.

Curley, v Google LLC. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has No. 22-01735.