Google settles Black employees' racial bias lawsuit for $50 million
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 per cent of Google's workforce and 3 per cent 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
18 minutes ago
- CNA
Trump willing to extend trade talks deadline, but says that won't be necessary
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (Jun 11) he would be willing to extend a Jul 8 deadline for completing trade talks with countries before higher US tariffs take effect, but did not believe that would be necessary. Trump told reporters before a performance at the Kennedy Center that trade negotiations were continuing with some 15 countries, including South Korea, Japan and the European Union. "We're rocking in terms of deals," he said. "We're dealing with quite a few countries and they all want to make a deal with us." He said he did not believe a deadline extension would be "a necessity." Trump said the US would send out letters in coming weeks specifying the terms of trade deals to dozens of other countries, which they could then embrace or reject. "At a certain point, we're just going to send letters out ... saying, 'This is the deal. You can take it, or you can leave it,'" Trump said. "So at a certain point we'll do that. We're not quite ready." US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers earlier that the Trump administration could extend the July trade deal deadline - or "roll the date forward" for countries negotiating in good faith, in certain cases. A 90-day pause in Trump's broadest, "reciprocal" tariffs will end on Jul 8, with only one trade deal agreed with Britain and some 17 others at various stages of negotiation. "It is highly likely that those countries - or trading blocs as is the case with the EU - who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent told the House Ways and Means Committee. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not." Bessent's remarks marked the first time a Trump administration official has indicated some flexibility around the expiration date for the pause. Bessent reiterated the possibility of more negotiating time at a second hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, saying it was "my belief that countries that are negotiating in good faith could be rolled forward." He said the European Union had previously been slower to come forward with robust proposals, but was now showing "better faith", without providing specifics. Trump echoed that more upbeat view on Wednesday, saying, "They do want to negotiate." A deal struck on Tuesday in London with China to de-escalate that bilateral trade war is proceeding on a separate track and timeline, with an Aug 10 deadline set last month. The president has been the final decision-maker on his administration's tariff and trade policies, but Bessent's influence has increased in recent months and the Treasury chief has been viewed by many trading partners as a moderating voice. Trump announced the pause on Apr 9, a week after unveiling "Liberation Day" tariffs against nearly all US trading partners that proved to be so unexpectedly large and sweeping that it sent global financial markets into near panic. The S&P 500 Index plunged more than 12 per cent in four days for its heftiest run of losses since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Investors were so rattled they bailed out of safe-haven US Treasury securities, sending bond yields rocketing higher. The dollar sank. Markets started their recovery on Apr 9 when Trump unexpectedly announced the pause. The recovery continued in early May when the Trump team agreed to dial back the triple-digit tariff rates it had imposed on goods from China. Those events have given rise to what some on Wall Street have parodied as the "TACO" trade - an acronym for Trump Always Chickens Out. "The only time the market has reacted positively is when the administration is in retreat from key policy areas," Democratic Representative Don Beyer of Virginia told Bessent before pressing him on what to expect when the July deadline expires.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Oil prices ease as market assesses Middle East tension
Oil prices eased on Thursday, reversing gains made earlier in the Asian trading session, as market participants assessed a U.S. decision to move personnel from the Middle East ahead of talks with Iran over the latter's nuclear-related activity. Brent crude futures were down 30 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $69.47 a barrel at 0433 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was 23 cents lower, or 0.3 per cent, at $67.92 a barrel. A day earlier, both Brent and WTI surged more than 4 per cent to their highest since early April. U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was moving personnel because the Middle East "could be a dangerous place". He also said the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Iran has said its nuclear activity is peaceful. Increased tension with Iran has raised the prospect of disruption to oil supplies. The sides are set to meet on Sunday. "Some of the surge in oil prices that took Brent above $70 per barrel was overdone. There was no specific threat identified by the U.S. on an Iranian attack," said Vivek Dhar, director of mining and energy commodities research at Commonwealth Bank Australia. Response from Iran is only contingent on U.S. escalation, Dhar said. "A pull back (in price) makes sense, but a geopolitical premium that keeps Brent above $65 per barrel will likely persist until further clarity on U.S.-Iran nuclear talks is revealed," he said. The U.S. is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations in the Middle East due to heightened security risk in the region, Reuters reported on Wednesday citing U.S. and Iraqi sources. Iraq is the second-biggest crude producer after Saudi Arabia in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Military dependents can also leave Bahrain, a U.S. official said. Prices weakened having hit key technical resistance levels during Wednesday's rally, plus some market participants are betting on Sunday's U.S.-Iran meeting resulting in reduced tension, said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong. Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. would bomb Iran if the two countries cannot reach a deal regarding Iran's nuclear-related activity including uranium enrichment. Iran's Minister of Defense Aziz Nasirzadeh on Wednesday said Iran will strike U.S. bases in the region if talks fail and if the U.S. initiates conflict. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff plans to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oman on Sunday to discuss Iran's response to a U.S. proposal for a deal. Even so, expectations of a deal are evaporating as Trump has said he is less confident about whether he can convince Iran to stop its nuclear activity, ANZ analysts in a research note.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Trump says willing to extend trade talks deadline, but says that won't be necessary
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (Jun 11) he would be willing to extend a Jul 8 deadline for completing trade talks with countries before higher US tariffs take effect, but did not believe that would be necessary. Trump told reporters before a performance at the Kennedy Center that trade negotiations were continuing with some 15 countries, including South Korea, Japan and the European Union. "We're rocking in terms of deals," he said. "We're dealing with quite a few countries and they all want to make a deal with us." He said he did not believe a deadline extension would be "a necessity." Trump said the US would send out letters in coming weeks specifying the terms of trade deals to dozens of other countries, which they could then embrace or reject. "At a certain point, we're just going to send letters out ... saying, 'This is the deal. You can take it, or you can leave it,'" Trump said. "So at a certain point we'll do that. We're not quite ready." US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told lawmakers earlier that the Trump administration could extend the July trade deal deadline - or "roll the date forward" for countries negotiating in good faith, in certain cases. A 90-day pause in Trump's broadest, "reciprocal" tariffs will end on Jul 8, with only one trade deal agreed with Britain and some 17 others at various stages of negotiation. "It is highly likely that those countries - or trading blocs as is the case with the EU - who are negotiating in good faith, we will roll the date forward to continue the good-faith negotiations," Bessent told the House Ways and Means Committee. "If someone is not negotiating, then we will not." Bessent's remarks marked the first time a Trump administration official has indicated some flexibility around the expiration date for the pause. Bessent reiterated the possibility of more negotiating time at a second hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, saying it was "my belief that countries that are negotiating in good faith could be rolled forward." He said the European Union had previously been slower to come forward with robust proposals, but was now showing "better faith", without providing specifics. Trump echoed that more upbeat view on Wednesday, saying, "They do want to negotiate." A deal struck on Tuesday in London with China to de-escalate that bilateral trade war is proceeding on a separate track and timeline, with an Aug 10 deadline set last month. The president has been the final decision-maker on his administration's tariff and trade policies, but Bessent's influence has increased in recent months and the Treasury chief has been viewed by many trading partners as a moderating voice. Trump announced the pause on Apr 9, a week after unveiling "Liberation Day" tariffs against nearly all US trading partners that proved to be so unexpectedly large and sweeping that it sent global financial markets into near panic. The S&P 500 Index plunged more than 12 per cent in four days for its heftiest run of losses since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Investors were so rattled they bailed out of safe-haven US Treasury securities, sending bond yields rocketing higher. The dollar sank. Markets started their recovery on Apr 9 when Trump unexpectedly announced the pause. The recovery continued in early May when the Trump team agreed to dial back the triple-digit tariff rates it had imposed on goods from China. Those events have given rise to what some on Wall Street have parodied as the "TACO" trade - an acronym for Trump Always Chickens Out. "The only time the market has reacted positively is when the administration is in retreat from key policy areas," Democratic Representative Don Beyer of Virginia told Bessent before pressing him on what to expect when the July deadline expires. "As I have said repeatedly there are 18 important trading partners. We are working toward deals with those," Bessent said before going on to signal a willingness to offer extensions to those negotiating in good faith.
