Google has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused the tech giant of a systemic racial bias against Black employees, according to a Reuters report.
The preliminary settlement, filed on Thursday evening in federal court in Oakland, California, covers more than 4,000 current and former Black employees of Google based in California and New York. The deal still requires approval from a judge to go into effect, the report added.
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The lawsuit alleged that Google maintained a racially-biased corporate culture, which led to Black employees being routinely placed in lower-level roles, given lower pay, denied promotion opportunities, and subjected to discriminatory performance reviews. The lead plaintiff claimed she was denied promotions and ultimately terminated after six years, shortly after preparing a report on racial bias within the company.
The complaint further stated that Black employees made up only 4.4% of Google’s workforce and 3% of its leadership in 2021.
A notable detail in the suit was the alleged use of terms like “not Googley enough” or lacking “Googleyness” to undermine and exclude Black employees, which the plaintiffs described as racially coded language, the report said.
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Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc, has denied any wrongdoing in the matter. In a statement, the company said it fully complies with all applicable laws and chose to settle to avoid prolonged litigation.
The legal battle, which began in March 2022, followed an investigation by the California Civil Rights Department into Google’s treatment of Black female employees.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs indicated that they may seek up to $12.5 million in legal fees from the settlement. On Monday, they also dropped related claims from Black job applicants, citing Google’s cooperation and arguments presented during the process.
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