Laid-off Google employee files racism lawsuit claiming colleague attributed work mishap to 'everything going on with George Floyd'

A former manager at Google has filed a lawsuit against the company which claims she was passed over for promotion because she is black and repeatedly faced 'thinly veiled racist comments' including a taunt about George Floyd's death.

Tiffany Minott, 40, sued the company in New York alleging multiple civil rights violations and claiming that Google 'consistently undervalues and under-compensates black employees'.

Minott, a former project manager who joined Google in September 2019, also claims in the suit that she complained to HR about the 'racist' treatment but was told after an investigation that there was 'no issue'.

She said the behavior she faced at Google caused her to suffer from depression and anxiety which resulted in a period of sick leave which lasted around four months. Minott was ultimately laid off in January 2023.

'Google consistently undervalues and under-compensates black employees performing jobs requiring the same skill, effort, and responsibility as their white counterparts,' according to the complaint.

Tiffany Minott has sued Google over claims she faced racist treatment from colleagues and alleging the company 'undervalues and under-compensates black employees'

Minott has alleged that her co-worker Casey Schmidt (pictured) once told her that an issue she faced at work was 'probably because of everything going on with George Floyd'

The suit claims Minott, who worked in Google's Cloud services division, 'performed exceptionally' throughout her employment and 'exceeded all expectations' set by the company.

But she said her work was repeatedly underappreciated while similar performances by white colleagues were rewarded.

A Google spokesperson told DailyMail.com: 'We have strict policies against discrimination and we thoroughly investigate all reported concerns. We work hard to create an environment where everyone is valued and can succeed.' 

After Minott joined the company, she initially reported to Alexandra Schwartzer, a process manager who is white, and received frequent praise for her work, according to the suit. In April 2020, Ben Martin, a white man, took over as Minott's boss.

Following the change, Google 'repeatedly failed to evaluate Minott fairly, and according to the same standards as her similarly situated non-Black counterparts,' the complaint claims.

'An intentional pattern of discrimination that negatively impacted Minott's career trajectory and compensation at Google ensued.'

Minott alleges that under Martin's leadership, she was once told by a white colleague, Casey Schmidt, that issues she faced accessing work-related tools were 'probably because of everything going on with George Floyd'.

Martin is alleged to have chimed into the conversation – which took place around on month after Floyd's murder – by responding 'that sucks', but failing to offer a solution to the problem.

Martin is accused throughout the complaint of treating Minott differently to her 'white counterparts' and holding 'racial biases'.

Tiffany Minott, 40, sued Google in New York on Tuesday alleging multiple civil rights violations and claiming that Google 'consistently undervalues and under-compensates black employees' 

He allegedly passed over Minott for a promotion into a newly-created role, which would have brought a $50,000 pay rise, in favor of a less suitable white male with 'no prior experience working on Google products or services'.

Upon comparing her experience with the chosen candidate, 'it was clear that Google denied her the promotion based on her race and in retaliation for requesting short-term disability leave', it is claimed.

Minott claims that the pattern of alleged behavior caused her anxiety and depression which was 'directly attributable' to Google's 'unlawful conduct and were exacerbated by the discrimination that she faced at work'.

She requested a medical leave of absence in December 2020 but 'rather than allowing [her] to recover from her medical conditions appropriately, [Google] began subjecting [her] to increased discrimination based on race and retaliation for her request for short-term disability leave', the suit claims.

Minott took several months off work for mental health reasons and returned in April 2021. She claims she was then expected to complete 'four months' work within two weeks'.

In May 2021, Minott was transferred from Martin's team to the Google Systems department, reporting to Stacey Choi-Dunn, who is Asian, and Katie Richardson-Ball, who is white.

'Like Mr Martin, Minott's new managers continued to discriminate against her by subjecting her to heightened performance standards and a disproportionately high workload based on her race and in retaliation for taking a medically necessary leave of absence,' the suit claims.

The suit lists several instances where Minott was allegedly subjected to 'thinly veiled racist comments' during her work in the Google Services team.

They are said to include: 'you're articulate'; 'you look unimpressed… you're probably multitasking'; 'I understand you do not want to work hard'; and 'DEI activities are reverse discrimination to white men'.

A white colleague, technical account specialist Dan Hare, also allegedly said: 'I was a diversity hire in my last job.'

'These comments focused on Minott's tone, appearance, and company diversity efforts, reflecting an environment intolerant to the presence of black employees,' the suit added.

The lawsuit follows several other filed against Google over its alleged mistreatment of black employees.  In March 2022, a former diversity recruiter at the company, April Curley (pictured), claimed that the company engaged in 'intentional race discrimination'

Curley is a former diversity recruiter at the company 

Minott said she complained to HR several times about her treatment but that her concerns were 'dismissed'.

'[Google] simply refused to recognize or ameliorate discrimination, including racially discriminatory performance evaluations that impact Black employees' compensation and career trajectories,' according to the complaint.

The suit follows several others filed against Google in recent years which have alleged the company discriminates against its black employees through smaller salaries and fewer promotions.

A black, deaf Google employee filed a suit in California in December which alleged she was discriminated against because of her race and disability. Jalon Hall, the complainant, claims she was discriminated against despite the company publicly using her to promote its diversity credentials.

In March 2022, a former diversity recruiter at the company, April Curley, claimed that the company was 'engaged in a nationwide pattern or practice of intentional race discrimination and retaliation'.

The company's 2022 diversity report showed 5.3 percent of its workforce was black, compared with 48.3 percent who were white and 43.2 percent who were Asian. The proportion of black people in leadership roles was 4.7 percent.

Minott's lawsuit adds: 'Google's actions indicate a disturbing pattern and practice of discriminating against black employees in performance evaluations, promotional opportunities, and compensation. 

'Plaintiff continued to suffer under this pattern of discrimination until she was laid-off due to an alleged reduction-in-force in January 2023.'