A black, deaf Google employee – who had been celebrated at corporate events and on social media as a success story for the search giant’s inclusive workplace – has accused the company of discrimination based on her disability and race.

In an explosive lawsuit filed in the US Northern District of California, Jalon Hall — the first and only black, deaf hire at Google, according to Wired — slammed Google for limiting her access to sign-language interpreters months after starting the job.

In the complaint, the worker painted Google’s management environment as hostile and racially charged.

She cited Google’s manager at the company’s machine-learning research program calling her an “aggressive black deaf woman” {snip}

{snip}

On LinkedIn, Google had praised Hall for “helping expand opportunities for Black Deaf professionals,” while on Instagram, the corporation had featured the research analyst “for making #LifeAtGoogle more inclusive.”

Google recruiters promised Hall, who joined Google as a content moderator in 2020, that sign language interpreters would be provided “and can be fully accommodated,” Wired reported.

Months later, Hall was assigned to enforce YouTube’s child safety regulations, but managers refused interpreters to assist Hall in reviewing the content {snip}

Reportedly, the company worried about exposing contractors to graphic imagery and confidentiality concerns, despite US interpreters adhering to a code of conduct that includes standards for confidentiality.

Deprived of her interpreter, Hall seldom reached the quota of 75 videos that each moderator was required to review within an eight-hour workday. Frequently, she would watch an entire video, sometimes exceeding an hour, before realizing she couldn’t adequately assess its content.

{snip}