Google Will Pay $11M to Settle Age Bias Class Action

Google has reached a settlement worth $11 million with close to 230 engineers who sued the company over claims that they were discriminated against because of their age.

In addition to monetary relief, Google has also agreed to train its managers on bias based on age, it will create a committee which will focus on diversity hiring in the engineering fields, and will make certain that Google’s marketing strategy demonstrates diversity.

Plaintiff Robert Heath filed a class action lawsuit in April 2015 claiming that Google systematically discriminates against older job applicants. 

In his Google class action, Heath states that in February 2011, he was contacted by a recruiter for Google and was told that the company was “embarking on its largest recruiting / hiring campaign in its history,” and mentioned that Heath would be a “great candidate to come work at Google and add value.”

Yet, despite these factors, Heath says he was not hired by Google based on his age. The plaintiff alleges that managers and executives at Google have made “negative and discriminatory statements with regard to older workers age 40 and older.”

The Google class action lawsuit states, “On information and belief, Google’s interview policies and practices with respect to Mr. Heath and similarly situated workers age 40 or older are disadvantageous as compared to those used with workers under the age of 40, who Google treats preferentially and hires in significantly greater numbers.”

In addition, the Google class action lawsuit claims that “The end result of Google’s pattern and practice of age discrimination is a workforce with a median age of 29. On information and belief, Google’s discriminatory conduct was intentional.”

Another plaintiff in this case, Cheryl Fillekes, who joined in the allegations a year later, claims that she was interviewed by Google four times in seven years and was not offered a job.

A Los Angeles Times article states, “Google denied the allegations, saying that Fillekes and other job seekers she cited as examples didn’t demonstrate the technical aptitude required for the job, even though they were found by staff interviewers to be ‘Googley’ enough to be a good fit for the company.”

In August 2016, Google filed a motion opposing Class certification in this case, stating that the plaintiffs’ arguments were not substantial and were meritless. A judge conditionally certified the case in October 2016, stating that a written policy was not adequate to go against class action allegations.

As part of the agreement, plaintiff’s counsel will receive 25 percent ($2.75 million) of the $11 million settlement.

The Class is represented by Daniel L. Low, Daniel Kotchen, Michael von Klemperer, Lindsey Grunert and Amy Roller of Kotchen & Low LLP.

The Google Age Bias Class Action Lawsuit is Robert Heath, et al. v. Google Inc., Case No. 5:15-cv-01824, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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