A former Google employee sued the tech giant
for racial discrimination, saying it engages in a
“pattern and practice” of unfair treatment for
its Black workers. The suit claims the company
steered them into lower-level and lower-paid
jobs and subjected them to a hostile work
environment if they speak out.
April Curley was hired in 2014 to recruit Black
candidates for the company. Her lawsuit, filed
last Friday in U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of California in San Jose, claims she
was unlawfully fired in 2020 after she began
speaking out and “called for reform of the
barriers and double standards Google imposed
on Black employees and applicants,” according
to the lawsuit.
“Pursuant to its strong, racially biased corporate
culture, Google is engaged in a pattern and
practice of race discrimination against its
African American and Black employees,”
the complaint states. “Google’s centralized
leadership, which is nearly devoid of Black
representation, holds biased and stereotypical
views about the abilities and potential of
Black professionals.”
As a result, the lawsuit continues, Black
employees are paid less, advance less and often
leave the company.
A representative for Google did not immediately
respond to a message for comment.
The lawsuit, which seeks class action status,
echoes years of complaints from Black
employees at the company. That includes
prominent artificial intelligence scholar Timnit
Gebru, who said she was pushed out in 2020
after a dispute over a research paper examining