Google Settles Racial Discrimination Lawsuit for $50 Million

Google recently settled a racial discrimination lawsuit for $50 million, following allegations by Black employees of systemic racial disparities in hiring, pay, and advancement.

The lawsuit, filed in 2022, alleged that Google engaged in a “pattern and practice” of unfair treatment of its Black workers. Examples alleged in the lawsuit included Google’s habit of steering its Black workers into lower-level, lower-paid jobs, and subjecting them to a hostile work environment for speaking up.

The lawsuit alleged that Google applied “harmful racial stereotypes” to its Black workers. For example, said the complaint, Black workers were made to understand they were “not ‘Googly’ enough, a plain dog whistle for race discrimination.” The lawsuit claimed workers were also “hazed” and undermined by interviewers, hired into lower-level, lower-paying roles, and given fewer opportunities to advance in the company compared to their peers. 

The suit was originally filed by a single worker. Over time, more workers joined the case; a court eventually made it a class-action lawsuit. However, the lawsuit was only one example of years of complaints from Black employees at Google. These included concerns raised by artificial intelligence scholar Timnit Gebru. Gebru has said she was pushed out of Google in 2020 after releasing a research paper raising concerns about the societal dangers of certain kinds of artificial intelligence. 

The settlement was first announced in May 2025 and was finalized in May 2026. In a statement, Google announced that the company is “committed to paying, hiring, and leveling all employees consistently” and that it opposes claims it treated anyone unfairly.

The settlement does not require Google to admit liability. It does, however, commit Google to conduct analyses of its pay equity practices, enact pay transparency measures, and limit mandatory arbitration for employment-related disputes through at least August 2026.

California law bars a wide range of practices as illegal employment discrimination. Businesses may not discriminate against anyone in a protected class while accepting applications, screening candidates, interviewing, hiring, transferring, promoting, demoting, terminating, or separating employees. Employers cannot discriminate when assigning working conditions, including compensation. They may not prevent or require workers to participate in training, apprenticeships, employee organizations, or unions based on a protected characteristic.

Protected characteristics include race and skin color. They also include ancestry or national origin. Religion, age, and disability (including medical conditions and genetic information) are protected. So are sex and gender, including sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions. Marital status, military or veteran status, and reproductive health decision-making are protected as well.

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) applies to both public and private employers. It also applies to labor organizations and employment agencies. Employers with five or more employees must follow the FEHA’s requirements. They may not discriminate against job applicants or employees because of protected characteristics.

California also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees if an employee asserts their rights under the FEHA or other California laws. For example, if an employee speaks up about suspected discrimination, their employer may not fire them, demote them, or take other retaliatory actions for doing so.

Many California employees also have rights under the California Family Rights Act (CFRA). CFRA requires employers with five or more employees to provide eligible employees with job-protected leave when the employee needs to take care of an immediate family member with a serious health condition – or when the employee needs time off to care for their own health condition. Employees can also take leave when bringing a new child into the household by birth, adoption, or foster care placement. Affected employers must also provide up to four months of disability leave. 

California law provides several remedies for employment discrimination. The remedies that apply in any case often depend on what happened. For instance, if an employee was underpaid due to their race, remedies might include back pay for those lost earnings. Pay for future lost earnings, hiring, reinstatement, promotion, out-of-pocket costs, policy changes, workforce training, and reasonable accommodations may also be required. Courts can also require employers to pay damages for emotional distress, punitive damages, and/or attorney’s fees and costs in appropriate cases. 

Racial discrimination undermines employees’ ability to do their jobs well. It’s also illegal. If you suspect you’ve been the target of racial discrimination, don’t wait. Speak to a knowledgeable San Francisco Bay Area employment attorney today. Contact the McCormack Law Firm at 415.925.5161 to discuss your situation and learn more about your options from a local employment law attorney. 

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only. McCormack Law Firm is not involved in this case. This case result does not mean that future case results will be the same, and results are not guaranteed.