The US government has ordered Google to let its employees speak out about workplace issues as part of a settlement over claims that it prevents employees from going public with their concerns.

The company will tell employees that they are free to speak publicly, including to the media, about workplace diversity and pay after staff complained that they had been retaliated against for speaking out.

Employees have sought more freedom to protest policies enforced by Google's companies, including YouTube's rules on hate speech and LGBT people.

Leaders in recent walkout protests, which pressured the company to change its policies following a high-profile sexual harassment scandal, have said that they experienced consequences including demotion.

Meanwhile right-wing employees have complained that their beliefs leave them ostracised among left-leaning bosses, and have led them to lose their jobs.

Google has instituted an open culture, with message boards allowing employees across the world to talk to each other, but in recent months it has reportedly attempted to stop its workers finding information about contentious issues such as its military contracts, which have prompted widespread employee protests in recent years.