California Investigates Google’s Treatment of Black Women Workers

California’s civil rights regulator is investigating Google’s treatment of black workers after alleged incidents of harassment and discrimination, according to two people with knowledge of the matter and agency emails seen by Reuters.

Lawyers and analysts from the California Department of Employment and Fair Housing (DFEH) interviewed several black women who worked at Alphabet’s unit, which owns Google, about their experiences, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to compromise the investigation.

DFEH interviewed workers who filed formal complaints and those who did not, showing that the regulator has been looking for more examples of possible mistreatment. The questions focus on alleged harassment and discrimination in the workplace, according to the emails.

The agency is involved in lawsuits against video game companies Tencent, Riot Games and Activision Blizzard, alleging widespread discrimination and harassment.

Artificial intelligence researcher Timnit Gebru said she was fired from Google a year ago for criticizing the lack of diversity in the workforce and for going up against managers who objected to publishing a critical article she co-wrote.

DFEH declined to comment. Google said it is focused on “building sustainable equality” for its black workers and that 2020 was its biggest year of hiring “black+” workers, a designation that includes people from multiple races.