Google Must Face Conservative Employee Bias Class Action

Google was unable to escape a class action lawsuit alleging the tech giant discriminates against conservative white male job applicants.

Although Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Brian C. Walsh indicated some hesitancy, he denied Google’s push to toss the case, at least at this point.

A group of software engineers alleged in their class action lawsuit that they and others were penalized for expressing conservative viewpoints, in addition for being white and male.

The original plaintiffs were joined by other men who said they too had been singled out and terminated from their jobs at Google after expressing conservative viewpoints.

In addition, other plaintiffs alleged that they had been unable to make it through the job application process because of their race, gender, and conservative views.

One of the original plaintiffs, James Damore, penned an infamous memo explaining why women were biologically worse at jobs in the technical field than men; however, claims brought by him and the other original plaintiff were stayed.

Google shot back against the job discrimination class action lawsuit, contending that there is no definitive way to categorize “conservative” viewpoints.

Further, argued the tech company, even if a categorical definition of conservative could be put together, the job application process is so nuanced that it would require the review of all Google job applications to determine whether hiring decisions were based on whether or not a candidate was conservative.

Google’s attorneys, pointing out that the company receives hundreds of job applications each year, suggested the potential for an unending inquiry into the tech giant’s hiring practices.

While Judge Walsh expressed hesitation over the prospect of “discovery abuse,” he found no reason to stall the litigation prior to discovery.

In addition, the judge noted concerns about the viability of a Class based on political views.

“Ultimately, it will be plaintiffs’ burden to show that certification of the Political Subclass is appropriate,” noted the judge in his order preserving the Google discrimination class action lawsuit. “The Court anticipates that this will not be an easy burden to satisfy; however, the pleadings do not establish that there is no reasonable possibility it can be met.”

The Google discrimination class action lawsuit alleges that white males with conservative viewpoints face a type of reverse employment discrimination at the company.

The original complaint alleged that Google used quotas – an illegal hiring practice – to fill positions. The plaintiffs said that they were victims of Google’s practice of excluding individuals who disagreed with its sentiments about diversity and social justice.

Though Judge Walsh allowed the class action lawsuit to proceed on the plaintiffs’ “novel” legal theory, he noted the ruling is tentative and Google can bring additional objections later in the litigation proceedings.

The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class are represented by attorneys Harmeet K. Dhillon and Gregory R. Michael of Dhillon Law Group Inc.

The Google Employee Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Damore, et al. v. Google LLC, et al., Case No. 18-CV-321529, in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara.

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