Google Hit with Class Action Over Alleged ‘Systemic’ Racial Discrimination

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A former Google university programs specialist alleges the search engine giant has engaged in a systemic pattern and practice of racial discrimination against African American and Black employees nationwide. 

The 24-page lawsuit alleges that the lack of Black representation among Google’s centralized leadership has led the company to hire few Black employees, and those who are brought on are allegedly “steer[ed]” into lower-level, lower-paying jobs. The plaintiff, who the suit says worked for the company from 2014 until she was unlawfully terminated in September 2020, alleges that Black Google employees are denied opportunities to advance into leadership roles because of their race and face a hostile work environment and possible retaliation should they “dare to challenge or oppose the company’s discriminatory practices.” 

“As a result, Black employees at Google earn and advance less than non-Black employees and suffer higher rates of attrition,” the complaint alleges. 

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff was hired by Google to expand its outreach efforts to Black college students. When she was brought on, the plaintiff was placed in a lower job grade and title than her work and responsibilities warranted as part of an apparent practice whereby Black professionals were “pigeon-holed into dead-end jobs” with less visibility, lower pay and no opportunity for advancement, the case alleges.  

The filing says that despite the plaintiff’s success in bringing on well-qualified Black candidates, the woman discovered that Google had no genuine interest in actual diversity and equal employment opportunities, but rather sought only to “burnish its public image for marketing purposes.” According to the complaint, the plaintiff’s unwillingness to cater to Google’s superficial diversification efforts ultimately harmed her career. From the lawsuit: 

“Google wanted Plaintiff, as an African American woman, to quietly put on a good face for the company and toe the company line. But Plaintiff was unwilling to be used as a mere marketing ploy. Plaintiff was a champion for Black employees and Black students; she vocally opposed and called for reform of the barriers and double standards Google imposed on Black employees and applicants. In response to her advocacy for herself and other Black employees subjected to Google’s discriminatory practices, Google unlawfully marginalized, undermined, and ultimately terminated Plaintiff because of her race and her protected activity.” 

The lawsuit alleges that Google’s “overwhelmingly” non-Black leadership holds “racially biased, stereotypical, and harmful views” of Black workers, and the company’s “racially biased” corporate culture decidedly favors white men, per the suit. The case says that at the time of the plaintiff’s hiring in 2014, for instance, only 628 of Google’s more than 32,000 employees identified as Black or African American, and the company had at the time only one Black or African American top-level executive out of 25. By 2020, the demographic makeup of Google’s workforce had “scarcely budged,” the filing says. 

Although Google’s workforce has “inched up to a dismal 4.4% ‘Black+,’” this ostensible improvement “pales by comparison” to nationwide labor statistics that show a 9.1 percent Black or African American representation within Google’s industry, the lawsuit relays. 

Further, the lawsuit claims Google’s human resources group is “[c]omplict” in the company’s alleged racial discrimination, as the department is “ineffective at resolving complaints of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.” Overall, Google does not foster an environment wherein Black employees feel free to complain of discrimination or harassment, the case alleges. 

“Instead, Black employees often feel intimidated from coming forward and suffer retaliation,” the complaint says. 

The lawsuit looks to represent Black employees in the U.S. who work or worked for Google and who were subjected to discrimination by the company due to their race. 

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