One of the largest tech controversies last year (apart from Uber) began when Google fired James Damore in August on the grounds that he had perpetuated gender stereotypes.
Now, Damore has hired a Republican Party official as his attorney. Together with another former Google engineer, David Gudeman, Damore has filed a lawsuit as a proposed class action in Santa Clara County Superior Court in California. The lawsuit alleges workplace discrimination and retaliation.
“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 Caucasians and/or males. Google’s open hostility for conservative thought is paired with invidious discrimination on the basis of race and gender, barred by law,” according to a filing in the state court.
The filing goes on to say, “Google’s management goes to extreme — and illegal — lengths to encourage hiring managers to take protected categories such as race and/or gender into consideration as determinative hiring factors, to the detriment of Caucasian and male employees and potential employees at Google.”
The lawsuit also accuses Google of maintaining a secret blacklist of conservative media personalities who are not allowed inside the company’s offices and is requesting an injunction barring Google from discriminating against individuals with conservative political views, as well as for unspecified compensation.
Damore’s lawyer is Harmeet Dhillon, a civil rights lawyer who has taken on some of the Bay Area’s progressive tendencies. She was also on President Donald Trump’s shortlist to lead the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in March, before the president ended up nominating a different attorney, according to press reports.
“We look forward to defending against Mr. Damore’s lawsuit in court,” Google said in a statement.
