Tech giant, Google has now settled a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit that accused it of systematically underpaying females, promising to provide $118 million in monetary relief and invite outsiders to review its payment procedures. Three former Google employees first sued the company in 2017 in Ellis v. Google LLC, claiming that it paid women less than men for the same job; a fourth plaintiff was added later.
Goggle Egalitarian Ethos Are Contradicted by this Gender Discrimination Lawsuit
For the company Google, which prides itself on an egalitarian ethos, the long-running legal dispute was an uncomfortable subject. It coincided with gender discrimination lawsuits against tech peers Microsoft and Oracle that have had mixed results. The women suing the software company Oracle faced a setback when a judge denied the plaintiffs of their class-action gender discrimination lawsuit status.
“While we strongly believe in the equity of our policies and practices, after nearly five years of litigation, both sides agreed that resolution of the matter, without any admission or findings, was in the best interest of everyone,” Chris Pappas, a Google spokesman, said in a statement. “We’re very pleased to reach this agreement.” Google has analyzed pay equity over the last nine years and raised employees’ pay when warranted, he added.
Google Will Let Third-Party Experts Assess its Pay Equity Process
For three years after formal approval of the settlement of the gender discrimination lawsuit, Google will let third-party experts assess how it could improve its pay equity process and be fairer when establishing rank and pay for new hires. There will also be an external monitor to assess whether the company is following the experts’ recommendations, according to firms representing the plaintiffs, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein and Altshuler Berzon.
“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,” Holly Pease, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
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