Jan. 9 (UPI) — James Damore, a former Google engineer fired for a leaked internal memo criticizing the company’s diversity efforts, filed a discrimination lawsuit against the company Monday.
Damore lists former software engineer David Gudeman as a co-plaintiff in the 161-page complaint filed by the Dhillon Law Group in Santa Clara Superior Court alleging Google discriminates against conservatives, white people, and men.
The proposed class-action lawsuit is seeking monetary and other damages for conservatives, Caucasians and men.
“Damore, Gudeman, and other class members were ostracized, belittled, and punished for their heterodox political views, and for the added sin of their birth circumstances of being Caucasian and/or males,” the suit states. “Google’s open hostility for conservative thought is paired with invidious discrimination on the basis of race and gender.”
A Google representative said the company is looking forward to “defending against Mr. Damore’s lawsuit in court.”
Damore was fired in August after he wrote a memo arguing women in engineering were paid less than men because of their biological differences, not because of hiring practices and criticizing Google for its “left leaning” culture.
Gudeman worked at Google from 2013 until December 2016 and claims he was wrongfully terminated and “chastised for attempting to stand up for Caucasian males and his conservative views.”
The suit alleges Google paid bonuses to employees who “disagreed with and disparaged Damore,” kept internal blacklists to prevent conservative hires and failed to protect employees who voted for Donald Trump.
It also states Google has an “open hostility for conservative thought” and uses “illegal hiring quotas” at the expense of white men.
Attorney Harmeet K. Dhillon said “dozens” of current and former Google employees have reached out to her firm and Google isn’t the only company guilty of this kind of prejudice.
“People don’t want to out themselves as conservatives,” Dhillon said. “Google has engaged in some shocking activities in my opinion. I was truly shocked myself … There’s a Lord of the Flies mentality.”