Google settles Black employees' racial bias lawsuit for $50 million
FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is seen at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., November 1, 2018. REUTERS/ Stephen Lam/File Photo
(Reuters) - Google agreed to pay $50 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the search engine company of systemic racial bias against Black employees.
A preliminary settlement covering more than 4,000 Google employees in California and New York was filed on Thursday evening in the Oakland, California federal court, and requires a judge's approval.
Plaintiffs in the proposed class action said Google has a "racially biased corporate culture" where management steers Blacks to lower-level jobs, pays them less, downgrades their performance ratings and denies them opportunities to advance.
According to the complaint, Black employees comprised only 4.4% of Google's workforce and 3% of its leadership in 2021.
The plaintiff April Curley, hired to expand outreach to historically Black colleges, said Google denied her promotions, stereotyped her as an "angry" Black woman, and fired her after six years as she prepared a report on its alleged racial bias.
Managers also allegedly denigrated Black employees by declaring they were not "Googley" enough or lacked "Googleyness," which the plaintiffs called racial dog whistles.
Google, a unit of Mountain View, California-based Alphabet, denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle, and said it fully complied with all applicable laws. It had no immediate additional comment on Friday.
The lawsuit began in March 2022 after a regulator now known as the California Civil Rights Department started investigating Google's treatment of Black female employees.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs may seek up to $12.5 million of the settlement fund in fees. On Monday, the lawyers dismissed related claims brought on behalf of job applicants, citing evidence they had gathered and Google's "reasoned arguments."
The case is Curley et al v Google LLC, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 22-01735.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Trump reports more than $600 million in income from crypto, golf, licensing fees
(Reuters) -Donald Trump reported more than $600 million in income from crypto, golf clubs, licensing and other ventures in a public financial disclosure report released on Friday that provided a glimpse of the vast business holdings of America's billionaire president. The annual financial disclosure form, which appeared to cover the 2024 calendar year, shows the president's push into crypto added substantially to his wealth but he also reported large fees from developments and revenues from his other businesses. Overall, the president reported assets worth at least $1.6 billion, a Reuters calculation shows. While Trump has said he has put his businesses into a trust managed by his children, the disclosures show how income from those sources still ultimately accrue to the president - something that has opened him to accusations of conflicts of interest. Some of his businesses in areas such as crypto, for example, benefit from U.S. policy shifts under him and have become a source of criticism. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The financial disclosure was signed on June 13 and did not state the time period it covered. The details of the cryptocurrency listings, as well as other information in the disclosure, suggest it was through the end of December 2024, which would exclude most of the money raised by the family's cryptocurrency ventures. Given the speed at which the Trump family has made deals during his ascent to the presidency, the filing is already a time capsule of sorts, capturing a period when the family was just starting to get into crypto but was largely still in the world of real estate deals and golf clubs. A meme coin released earlier this year by the president - $TRUMP - alone has earned an estimated $320 million in fees, although it's not publicly known how that amount has been divided between a Trump-controlled entity and its partners. In addition to the meme coin fees, the Trump family has raked in more than $400 million from World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance company. The Trump family is involved, also, with a bitcoin mining operation and digital asset exchange-traded funds. In the disclosures, Trump reported $57.35 million from token sales at World Liberty. He also reported holding 15.75 billion governance tokens in the venture. TRUMP MEDIA The wealth of the Republican businessman-turned-politician ranges from crypto to real estate, and a large part on paper is tied up in his stake in Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of social media platform Truth Social. Besides assets and revenues from his business ventures, the president reported at least $12 million in income, including through interest and dividends, from passive investments totaling at least $211 million, a Reuters calculation shows. His biggest investments were in alternative fund manager Blue Owl Capital Corp and in government bond funds managed by Charles Schwab and Invesco. The disclosure often only gave ranges for the value of his assets and income; Reuters used the lower amount listed, meaning the total value of his assets and income was almost certainly higher. The disclosure showed income from various assets including Trump's properties in Florida. Trump's three golf-focused resorts in the state - Jupiter, Doral and West Palm Beach - plus his nearby private members' club at Mar-a-Lago generated at least $217.7 million in income, according to the filing. Trump National Doral, the expansive Miami-area golf hub known for its Blue Monster course, was the family's single largest income source at $110.4 million. The income figures provided are essentially revenues, not net profits after subtracting costs. The disclosure underlined the global nature of the Trump family business, listing income of $5 million in license fees from a development in Vietnam, $10 million in development fees from a project in India and almost $16 million in licensing fees for a Dubai project. Trump collected royalty money, also, from a variety of deals - $1.3 million from the Greenwood Bible (its website describes it as "the only Bible officially endorsed by Lee Greenwood and President Trump"); $2.8 million from Trump Watches, and $2.5 million from Trump Sneakers and Fragrances. Trump listed $1.16 million in income from his NFTs - digital trading cards in his likeness - while First Lady Melania Trump earned around $216,700 from license fees on her own NFT collection. (Reporting by Lawrence Delevingne, Tom Bergin, Tom Lasseter, Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Jim Oliphant; Editing by Sandra Maler, Paritosh Bansal, Megan Davies, Will Dunham and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
India orders inspection of Boeing 787s after Air India crash
AHMEDABAD: India's aviation regulator has ordered all Boeing 787s being operated by local carriers to be inspected after an Air India crash killed 270 people this week, the aviation minister said on Saturday, adding the authorities were investigating all possible causes. The aviation regulator had on Friday ordered Air India to conduct additional maintenance checks on its Boeing 787-8/9 aircraft equipped with GEnx engines, including assessments of certain take-off parameters, electronic engine control tests and engine fuel-related checks. 'We have also given the order to do the extended surveillance of the 787 planes. There are 34 in our Indian fleet,' aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu told reporters in New Delhi. 'Eight have already been inspected and with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done.' He did not say whether government officials will be involved in the inspections. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board bound for Britain's Gatwick Airport began losing height seconds after take-off on Thursday and erupted in a fireball as it hit buildings below, in what has been the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. Air India operates 33 Boeing 787s, while rival airline IndiGo has one, according to data from Flightradar24. IndiGo did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Air India said it is currently completing the one-time safety checks directed by the Indian regulator, adding that 'some of these checks could lead to higher turnaround time and potential delays on certain long-haul routes.' The planes, however, have not been grounded, but a source on Friday told Reuters the Indian government was considering that as an option. Naidu also said the government will look at all possible theories of what led to the crash. Air India and the Indian government were looking at several aspects of the crash including issues linked to its engine thrust, flaps, and why the landing gear remained open as the plane took off and then came down, Reuters has reported. At least 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash, Dhaval Gameti, president of the Junior Doctors Association at B.J. Medical College, told reporters. Only one of the 242 passengers and crew on board survived while others were killed as the plane struck the medical college's hostel as it came down. The crisis has cast a shadow on Air India, which has for years struggled to rebuild its reputation and revamp its fleet after the Tata Group took over the airline from the Indian government in 2022. Tata's chairman said on Friday the group wants to understand what happened, but 'we don't know right now.' Naidu said a government panel was investigating the crash and will issue a report within three months. 'We are going to improve every necessary thing that is going to come our way, to improve the safety,' he said at the briefing, declining questions from journalists. BODIES RELEASED FROM MORGUE Later in the afternoon, authorities removed the tail of the aircraft that was stuck on top of a building, while hospital and rescue officials said a body of a cabin crew member was recovered from the wreckage. Air India said it will provide an interim payment of 2.5 million rupees ($29,000) each to the families of the deceased and to the survivor, to help address immediate financial needs, in addition to 10 million rupees in support announced previously by the Tata Group. 'The process of reuniting next of kin with their loved ones and personal effects has begun,' Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said in a statement, as authorities started handing over bodies of passengers and crew members to their families, nearly 48 hours after the crash. Dozens of anxious family members have been waiting outside an Ahmedabad hospital to collect the bodies, as doctors were working overtime to gather dental samples from the deceased to run identification checks and DNA profiling. At least 11 DNA samples have been matched so far, and authorities expect to hand over three bodies by Saturday evening, said Rajnish Patel, a senior official at the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. He told reporters that the matching of samples was a meticulous process that had to be done slowly. The wait, however, had made some family members more distraught. Rafiq Abdul Hafiz Memon, who lost four relatives in the incident, said he was not getting any answers from authorities. 'We have lost our children ... we are not understanding anything. Please help us get information about our children. Tell us when they are going to release their bodies,' Memon said. Another father was upset about not being able to get the body of his son, Harshad Patel, saying he was told by authorities it will take 72 hours for DNA profiling. 'The authorities are trying to help but our patience is running out,' he said. Most bodies in the crash were badly charred and authorities are using dental samples to run identification checks. Jaishankar Pillai, a forensic dentist, told reporters on Friday they had the dental records of 135 charred victims, which can then be matched through reference to victims' prior dental charts, radiographs or other records. Even for doctors, things are getting difficult, as the plane struck a hostel building of the B.J. Medical College, where many of the dead are undergoing identification checks. 'Most of us are struggling with our emotions and are mentally disturbed because of the loss of friends and colleagues,' said one doctor who did not wish to be named. 'The loss of so many colleagues and friends in this incident is difficult.' ($1 = 86.0810 Indian rupees)
The Star
8 hours ago
- The Star
Indonesia aims to seal EU free trade agreement in 2026, official says
A man walks past as a container is unloaded from a truck at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 3, 2025. -- REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana JAKARTA (Reuters): Indonesia aims to seal a free trade agreement with the European Union in 2026, Indonesian trade ministry official Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono said, after the two sides completed their latest round of negotiations. Indonesia and the EU have been in discussions on the agreement for about nine years, and are aiming to sign and ratify it by next year, Djatmiko told reporters, adding it could come into effect by late 2026 or early 2027. The EU has committed to provide market access to priority Indonesian products such as palm oil, textiles, footwear and seafood, Djatmiko said. Indonesia and the EU have previously clashed on tougher EU trade rules for products with potential links to deforestation, which could have an impact on shipments of Indonesian palm oil. In turn, Indonesia has also pledged to increase market access for agricultural and manufactured goods from the EU, Djatmiko said. EU ambassador to Indonesia Denis Chaibi said negotiations are ongoing and "substance will determine timing." The main benefits of the free trade deal for Indonesia include increased foreign direct investment from the EU in sectors like renewables, semiconductors, and mineral derivatives, a presentation slide presented by Djatmiko showed. The deal could increase exports by 5.4%, according to an internal benefit analysis, but senior economic minister Airlangga Hartarto said this was a conservative estimate and he targets a 50% increase in three years. In 2024, the EU invested US$1.1 billion in Indonesia, a drop of more than 50% from the previous year. Indonesia's exports to the EU last year were worth US$17.3 billion, while imports from the EU were worth US$12.8 billion, Indonesian government data showed. (Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by John Mair, David Stanway and Susan Fenton) - Reuters
