Google to reportedly pay $50 million to settle racial bias lawsuit involving 4,000 employees

Google has reportedly agreed to pay a $50 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit alleging systemic racial bias against employees from the Black community in the US. This comes after a preliminary agreement, which covers over 4,000 current and former employees of the Alphabet-owned company in California and New York, was recently filed in the Oakland, California, federal court and is pending judicial approval, the report claims. The plaintiffs in the proposed class action accused the tech giant of fostering a "racially biased corporate culture" where Black employees were often directed to lower-level positions, received less pay, faced downgraded performance reviews, and were even denied advancement opportunities.

The lawsuit originated in March 2022 following an investigation by the California Civil Rights Department (formerly known as a regulator) into Google's treatment of Black female employees. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, lawyers representing the plaintiffs may seek up to $12.5 million from the settlement fund for their fees. Earlier this week, these lawyers dismissed related claims on behalf of job applicants, citing evidence gathered and "reasoned arguments" from Google.

What the plaintiffs said against Google’s racial bias

April Curley, one of the plaintiff who was hired to enhance outreach to historically Black colleges, claims that Google denied her promotions, subjected her to racial stereotypes by labeling her as an “angry” Black woman and ultimately terminated her after six years, just as she was preparing a report on the company’s alleged racial discrimination, Reuters report noted.

The lawsuit also alleges that the company’s managers undermined Black employees by claiming they weren’t “Googley” enough or lacked “Googleyness”—terms the plaintiffs argue were used as racial dog whistles.

As stated in the complaint (seen by Reuters), Black employees made up just 4.4% of Google’s overall workforce and only 3% of leadership roles in 2021.