The lawsuit accused the tech giant of treating Black female employees differently.
“We strongly disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone improperly and we remain committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees consistently,” Google spokeswoman Courtenay Mencini wrote in an emailed statement.
According to the lawsuit, Curley was denied promotions, labeled an “angry” Black woman, and ultimately fired while she was preparing a report on the company’s alleged racial bias. Additional complaints allege that Google managers spoke down to Black employees, claiming they weren’t “Googley” enough or lacked “Googleyness,” terms the plaintiffs described as racial dog whistles.
Curley and fellow plaintiffs Desiree Mayon, Ronkia Lewis, Rayna Reid, Anim Aweh, and Ebony Thomas will share in the settlement. Attorneys representing the group are expected to request $12.5 million in legal fees for their work on the case. Renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump served as one of the lead attorneys.
The settlement comes two months after Google reached a $28 million settlement over racial pay disparities. Under the racial bias agreement, Google will “continue to analyze pay to identify unexplained differences based on race,” and will”maintain well-publicized methods for employees to report concerns related to the terms and conditions of their employment,” the court filing said.
RELATED CONTENT: Google Settles $28 Million Racial Pay Disparity Class-Action Lawsuit; DEI Policies Still Under Fire
Source: Black Enterprise
