Lawsuit against Google alleges systemic bias against Black employees

A lawsuit filed be a former Google employee on Friday alleged that the company engaged in systemic bias against Black employees and maintains a corporate culture that favors white males. 

The suit, filed by plaintiff April Curley in a San Jose, Calif., federal court, accuses Google of directing Black employees to lower-level jobs, paying them less and declining them opportunities to advance, Reuters reported.

The complaint states that Google maintains a “racially biased corporate culture” that benefits white men.

Curley also alleges that Google subjected Black employees to a hostile work environment, forcing them to be questioned by security at its California offices, according to Reuters. 

Black employees make up 4.4 percent of Google’s workforce and about 3 percent of its leadership and technology sector, the lawsuit states, according to the wire service.

Curley said she was hired by Google in 2014 to work on an outreach program for historically Black colleges, but that alleged her employment was a “marketing ploy,” according to Reuters. The former employee stated that her superiors disparaged her work and stereotyped her as an “angry” Black woman. 

She said she was fired by Google in 2020 after she and other coworkers started to put together a list of changes they hoped to see the company enact, Reuters reported.

The Hill has reached out to Google for comment.

Curley is represented by Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer who represented the families of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.

The former employee is seeking compensatory, punitive damages and lost compensation for current and former Black Google employees, as well was the restoration of their rightful positions and seniority, Reuters reported.