An age discrimination lawsuit against Google was approved Wednesday as a ‘”collective action” by a federal court judge in San Jose. The decision means that certain types of software engineers, age 40 or over, who were rejected for jobs at Google since August 2014, and after an in-person interview, will be able to join the lawsuit.

Thousands of others may be eligible.

But this was more than an ordinary court ruling. Judge Beth Labson Freeman’s ruling may be remembered for the artful flourish of its opening sentence and the challenge it seems to be delivering to Silicon Valley.

“How does age factor into one’s Googleyness?” Freeman wrote at the beginning of a 17-page decision that sets in motion an investigation of Google’s hiring practices and corporate culture.

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