Google employee pay discrimination $118M class action settlement

Google agreed to pay $118 million to resolve class action lawsuit claims it engaged in discrimination against female employees by paying them less than their male counterparts.

The settlement benefits several California classes: 

• The Equal Pay Act Class includes women who were hired into covered positions by Google in California between Sept. 14, 2013, and July 25, 2022
• The FEHA Class includes women who were hired into covered positions by Google in California between Sept. 14, 2013, and Aug. 28, 2017, excluding college hires 
• The PAGA Class includes women who were hired into covered positions by Google in California between June 14, 2021, and July 25, 2022.

Google is a massive tech company responsible for the Google search engine and other ventures, such as YouTube. Employees at the company receive benefits such as insurance, wellness programs, retirement savings, time off and more.

However, according to class action lawsuit allegations, Google may have discriminated against its female workers by paying them less than their male counterparts.

Women hired by the company in California say they were paid less than the men they worked with despite having “comparable experience and education.” There was allegedly no basis for this pay difference except gender. 

In addition, Google allegedly denied women the same opportunities for corporate advancement by giving them less-important projects to work on.

“Google has known or should have known of this pay disparity between its female employees in Covered Positions and male employees performing substantially equal or substantially similar work, yet Google has taken no action to equalize its male and female employees’ pay for substantially equal or substantially similar work,” the Google discrimination class action lawsuit contends. 

Plaintiffs in the Google class action lawsuit claim these actions violated the California Equal Pay Act, Unfair and Unlawful Business Practices Act and Fair Employment and Housing Act. The class action also includes claims under California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).

Google hasn’t admitted any wrongdoing but agreed to resolve the class action lawsuit with a $118 million settlement. The company also agreed to settle individual plaintiff claims with a $200,000 settlement.

Of the settlement, $1 million will be used to pay penalties to the California Labor Workforce Development Agency under PAGA. After these and other deductions, around $86 million is projected to be leftover to fund settlement payments.

Payments to each class member will vary depending on their hire date, wages, time worked, class member status and other factors. 

Minimum payments of $250 will be allocated to class members hired after Jan. 1, 2022. 

For class members hired on or before Dec. 31, 2021, minimum payments are $500 for those who worked more than six months and $250 for those who worked less than six months. Additional compensation will vary.

The deadline for exclusion and objection is Oct. 11, 2022. 

The final approval hearing for the Google pay discrimination settlement is scheduled for Oct. 24, 2022.

No claim form is required to benefit from the settlement. Class Members who do not exclude themselves will automatically receive a settlement payment in the mail.

Who’s Eligible

The settlement benefits several California classes: 

• The Equal Pay Act Class includes women who were hired into covered positions by Google in California between Sept. 14, 2013, and July 25, 2022
• The FEHA Class includes women who were hired into covered positions by Google in California between Sept. 14, 2013, and Aug. 28, 2017, excluding college hires 
• The PAGA Class includes women who were hired into covered positions by Google in California between June 14, 2021, and July 25, 2022.

Potential Award

Varies

Proof of Purchase

No proof of purchase applicable

Exclusion and Objection Deadline

10/11/2022

Case Name

Ellis V. Google, LLC, Case No. CGC-17-561299, the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco

Final Hearing

10/24/2022

Settlement Website

GoogleCAPaySettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Google CA Pay Settlement
c/o JND Legal Administration
PO BOX 91343
Seattle, WA 98111
Info@GoogleCAPaySettlement.com
888-681-2480

Class Counsel

Kelly Dermody
Anne Shaver
LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN LLP

James Finberg
Eve Cervantez
ALTSHULER BERZON LLP

Defense Counsel

PAUL HASTINGS LLP