Google faces a racial bias lawsuit, again.

Inequalities in the tech sector are a known issue. The latest company to face backlash for its treatment of diverse employees is Google, which is accused of systemic racial bias.

The lawsuit was filed in California on March 18 by former employee April Curley. Reuters reported that the suit claims that Black employees experience hostile work environments at Google, and that the tech giant limits career progression because of their race by pushing Black workers to lower-level jobs.

The lawsuit alleges: “Pursuant to its racially biased corporate culture, Google segregates its workforce and workplaces, which are permeated by a racially hostile work environment.”

On the point of a hostile work environment, Curley points to being frequently asked to show their identification by security at its Mountain View, California, campus.

This isn’t the first time Google has had accusations of racism lobbied against its security teams. Another Black employee, Angel Onuoha, wrote on Twitter that she had experienced unfair treatment.

Riding my bike around Google’s campus and somebody called security on me because they didn’t believe I was an employee. Had to get escorted by two security guards to verify my ID badge 🤦🏾‍♂️

— Angel Onuoha (@angelonuoha7) September 20, 2021

Curley’s case is also backed up with evidence, and the suit notes that Black people only make up 4.4% of employees and approximately 3% of leadership roles within the technology sector of the workforce.

Comments on the case

Curley has claimed that Google sacked her in September 2020 after she collaborated with colleagues to develop a list of diversity-based reforms.

Reuters reported that Ben Crump, a civil rights lawyer who also represented the family of George Floyd and who is representing Curley, said: “While Google claims that they were looking to increase diversity, they were actually undervaluing, underpaying, and mistreating their Black employees.”

Curley states that she felt her hiring was a “marketing ploy” and she was stereotyped as an “angry” Black woman while being ignored for possible promotions.

In 2014, Curley joined Google when the company only had 1.9% of employees who identified as Black or African American. Rather than make career paths for diverse hires, Google hired five white employees to take up higher positions.

The lawsuit has the goal of collecting compensatory and punitive damages, as well as lost compensation for Curley and other former Black Google employees. Additionally, the suit intends to restore the positions of those former employees.

After Google’s last accusations of mistreating Black female employees, a Google spokesperson stated: “Our goal is to ensure that every employee experiences Google as an inclusive workplace, we’ll continue to focus on this important work and thoroughly investigate any concerns, to make sure our workplace is representative and equitable.”

UNLEASH has reached out to Google for comment but has yet to receive a response.