Google class action over gender discrimination settled for $118M

Google Gender Discrimination Class Action Settlement Overview: 

• Who: Google has agreed to pay $118 million and allow a third-party labor economist to review its hiring policies and own pay equity studies.
• Why: Google agreed to the settlement to resolve claims it underpays its female employees. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court. 

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

The tech giant had been accused of gender discrimination by consistently paying its female employees a lower wage than their male counterparts, reports Fortune. 

More than 15,000 female employees of Google who have worked for the company since 2013 are eligible to take part in the class action settlement, according to a statement announcing the settlement. 

“As a woman who’s spent her entire career in the tech industry, I’m optimistic that the actions Google has agreed to take as part of this settlement will ensure more equity for women,” said Plaintiff Holly Pease, in a statement.

In addition to financial compensation, Google has agreed to allow an outside third-party to review the company’s policy of sorting new recruits into different levels before they are hired, reports Fortune. 

Google reportedly places new hires on different levels based on their previous work experience, however, female workers claimed the company placed them on lower levels than men with “comparable experience and education.” 

Google Accused Of Paying Female New Hires On Lower Tiers

The female workers claimed that, instead of focusing on experience and education, Google places them on lower levels than their male peers due to their receiving a “lower pay at prior employment,” reports Fortune. 

Further, female workers argued they had less opportunity to climb the company’s corporate ladder, claiming Google gave them less prestigious assignments to complete while disregarding their experience to do them. 

Google agreed to pay $100 million earlier this month in a separate class action settlement made to resolve claims the company violated the privacy rights of consumers with its Google Photos face recognition tool. 

Have you faced gender discrimination in the workplace? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP and Altshuler Berzon LLP.

The Google Gender Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit is Ellis, et al. v. Google LLC, Case No. CGC-17-561299, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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