Three former Google software engineers have sued the tech giant, alleging it breached employee contracts by not honouring its “don’t be evil” pledge.

The lawsuit was filed by former employees Rebecca Rivers, Sophie Waldman and Paul Duke at a state court in Santa Clara county, California, on Monday.

They allege they were fired two years ago for fulfilling their contractual obligation to speak up if they saw Google violating its “don’t be evil” pledge.

Google, whose parent company is Alphabet Inc, has promoted the pledge “don’t be evil” as a core value for more than 20 years, and it remains a part of the firm’s official employee code of conduct.

Sky News has contacted Google for comment.

It has previously said that the employees violated data security policies.

The trio had raised concerns at town halls and other forums inside Google about the company potentially selling cloud technology to immigration authorities in the United States, which at the time were engaging in detention tactics considered inhumane by activists.

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The workers considered the potential work “evil” under Google’s policies, which call for “acting honourably and treating each other with respect” and engaging in “the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct”, according to the lawsuit.

The company’s code of conduct says workers who think the company may be falling short of its commitment should not stay silent, the lawsuit said.

The workers are seeking an unspecified amount of damages.

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