Google to pay $1.2M verdict for discrimination against female exec

Google discrimination verdict overview: 

• Who: Google must pay $1.2 million for discrimination against Ulku Rowe, a technical director on Google Cloud’s financial services team, Law360 reports.
• Why: The jury ruled Google discriminated against Rowe due to her gender and retaliated against her after her complaint.
• Where: The Google discrimination verdict came in federal court in New York.

Google will have to pay $1.2 million to a Cloud executive after a jury verdict against the company on claims it discriminated against her because of her gender and then retaliated against her due to the complaint, according to Law360.

The jury ruled in the Google discrimination verdict that Google violated the New York City Human Rights Law and New York Labor Law but the plaintiff failed to prove that Google intentionally paid her less than men, the website said.

Rowe wasn’t unfairly denied $6.7M more in compensation since 2017, jury ruled 

Ulku Rowe, a technical director on Google Cloud’s financial services team, was awarded $150,000 for emotional distress and $1 million in punitive damages. She had also claimed that she would have been paid $6.7 million more since 2017 if she was compensated fairly due to her gender, Law360 reported.

“This unanimous verdict not only validates Ms. Rowe’s allegations of mistreatment by Google, but it also sends a resounding message that discrimination and retaliation will not be tolerated in the workplace,” the plaintiff’s attorney, Cara E. Greene, said in a statement, according to Law360.

A Google spokesperson told Law360 that it was disappointed in the verdict but that the company was “pleased that the jury found that Ms. Rowe has been paid and leveled fairly from the time she was hired to date, and that she was not subsequently denied any promotions.”

Google agreed in June 2022 to pay $118 million and open its hiring policies to an independent review in order to resolve claims it underpays its female employees. 

Have you been discriminated against because of your gender? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Cara E. Greene, Gregory S. Chiarello and Shira Z. Gelfand of Outten & Golden LLP. 

The Google female discrimination lawsuit is Rowe v. Google LLC, Case No. 1:19-cv-08655, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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