Alphabet’s Google Reaches $50M Settlement Over Claims of Systemic Racial Discrimination Against Black Employees

Alphabet's Google has agreed to pay $50 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of systemic racial discrimination against Black employees.

The proposed settlement, filed in court on Thursday after markets closed, would resolve claims from more than 4,000 current and former Google employees in California and New York, according to a report from Reuters.

The lawsuit alleged that Google maintained a “racially biased corporate culture” that placed Black workers in lower-level roles, paid them less than their peers, gave them lower performance ratings, and denied them promotion opportunities.

One plaintiff, April Curley, said she was hired to lead outreach to historically Black colleges but was repeatedly denied promotions and stereotyped by colleagues. Curley, who worked at Google for six years, said she was fired shortly after preparing a report detailing racial bias at the company.

According to court documents, Curley described being labeled an “angry” Black woman and said she was ultimately dismissed despite her efforts to raise concerns internally.

The complaint also cited 2021 workforce data showing Black employees made up just 4.4% of Google’s overall staff and 3% of leadership positions.

Plaintiffs further alleged that managers frequently questioned whether Black employees were “Googley” enough or demonstrated sufficient “Googleyness”—terms the suit described as coded language used to marginalize non-white workers.

Google has not commented on the settlement yet. 

Last month, Google agreed to pay $28 million to settle a separate lawsuit alleging that white and Asian employees were given preferential treatment in pay and career advancement over workers from other ethnic backgrounds.

The company confirmed that it had "reached a resolution," though it denied the allegations.

The case, filed in 2021 by former employee Ana Cantu, claimed that Hispanic, Latino, Native American, and other nonwhite workers were hired at lower salaries and placed in more junior roles compared with white and Asian peers.

Google’s back-to-back discrimination cases have pushed Alphabet’s settlement total to $78 million in just two months.

Alphabet’s stock fell more than 1% in afternoon trade on Friday. Its shares have fallen nearly 20% this year and are down 10% in the past 12 months. 

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Read also: Google Faces $3.3B Lawsuit From Italy’s Moltiply Group

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