Nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorneys Ben Crump and Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. have filed a nationwide class action race discrimination lawsuit against Google on behalf of current and former Black employees at Google, Curley v. Google (click here to read the Complaint).
Curley v. Google challenges and intends to end Google’s systemic race discrimination and racially hostile work environment and achieve restitution for those harmed by Google’s unlawful conduct.
The lawsuit alleges that pursuant to a pattern of discrimination, Google hires few Black employees and steers Black employees into lower-level roles, pays them less, and denies them advancement and promotions. Further, Black Googlers face a hostile work environment and suffer retaliation if they dare to challenge or oppose the company’s discriminatory practices, the complaint alleges. As a result, Black employees at Google earn and advance less than non-Black employees and are more likely to quit or be fired than their non-Black counterparts.
The complaint also alleges that Google maintains discriminatory hiring practices, refusing to consider or hire well-qualified Black applicants based on their race and racial stereotypes about African Americans as leaders and in technology.
As evidence of Google’s pattern of discriminatory practices, our complaint cites these facts:
- In 2014, Google only had one Black top-level executive out of 25. Over the next two years, Google added five White top-level executives but zero Black executives.
- In 2014, when Plaintiff April Curley was hired, Google employed over 32,000 employees, of whom only 628, or 1.9%, were Black.
- By 2021, after public scrutiny for its lack of diversity, Google’s workforce inched up to 4.4% Black, compared to an average of 9.1% within Google’s industry classification, according to 2021 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
- In 2021, Google’s leadership ranks were only 3% Black and its prestigious tech workforce was only 2.9% Black.
- Google assigns Black employees to lower levels than their experience and responsibilities warrant and pays Black employees less for performing the same level of work as non-Black employees.
- Google segregates its workforce and workplaces, which are permeated by a racially hostile work environment. Black professionals and visitors at Google’s main California campus headquarters and other locations are routinely harassed and targeted based on their race, often being questioned by security or asked to show identification.
Click here to read the Curley v. Google Objection Letter.
If you have experienced racial discrimination at the hands of Google, Mr. Crump wants to hear from you. Contact Mr. Crump’s office today for a free review of your case. He may be able to help you get the justice you deserve.
