Google’s made headlines in recent months after being sued for treating women and minorities unfairly. But now, a lawsuit claims the tech giant is actually discriminating against an unexpected group of workers.
Filed by two ex-employees, a new lawsuit claims that Google actually discriminates against white, male conservative employees.
Punished for political views?
The lengthy suit (161 pages) was filed by former engineers James Damore and David Gudeman, and contained communications between fellow employees that often condemned Damore and his political views.
Damore was fired last August after the intense backlash from the 10-page memo he wrote, arguing that biological differences between the sexes were what kept women from pursuing and succeeding in tech and leadership positions. Google made it clear that his ideology was damaging to the company, with the VP of engineering stating, “Building an open, inclusive environment is core to who we are, and the right thing to do.”
Damore, however, believes he was fired for simply expressing his view, and he alleges that Google tries to silence conservatives.
“Conservatives are a minority that feel like they need to stay in the closet to avoid open hostility,” he said. Damore’s attorney added that he and other class members were punished for their political views, and “for the added sin of their birth circumstances being Caucasians and/or males.”
Alleged illegal hiring quotas
The lawsuit also alleges that Google uses illegal hiring quotas to fill its required percentage of women and minority candidates. However, Google released a diversity report, and despite these quota claims, their workforce is still 69% male and 56% white.
Google’s only response to this suit? “We look forward to defending against Mr. Damore’s lawsuit in court.”
The company is still currently dealing with a lawsuit filed by three former female employees, claiming that they were paid less than their male colleagues with similar skills and duties, and experienced systemic discrimination.
