San Francisco, Jan 9 (IANS): Former Google employee James Damore who was fired last year for criticising the tech giant for its diversity policy, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the company claiming that it discriminates against white men.

According to a report in ReCode, Damore, in his lawsuit filed in a California court on Monday, said that Google "ostracised, belittled and punished" him and a fellow plaintiff.

Damore added that he and others who share his views at Google long have been "singled out, mistreated, and systematically punished and terminated from Google, in violation of their legal rights".

Google's attempts to hire workers from diverse backgrounds represents a form of "invidious discrimination" on the part of the tech giant, "to the detriment of caucasian and male employees", he added.

Google is yet to comment.

Damore wrote an op-ed titled "Why I Was Fired by Google" in the Wall Street Journal in August after he was ousted for writing a 10-page anti-diversity memo.

He said: "Google is a particularly intense echo chamber because it is in the middle of Silicon Valley and is so life-encompassing as a place to work.

"Some even live on campus. For many, including myself, working at Google is a major part of their identity, almost alike a cult' with its own leaders and saints, all believed to righteously uphold the sacred motto of 'Don't be evil'."

Google's Indian-born CEO Sundar Pichai described Damore's memo as "offensive".

Later, Pichai, while addressing a coding event for girls on the campus, said: There's a place for you at Google. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You belong here, and we need you."