In a bid to settle a lawsuit worth $118 million, Google has agreed to pay the amount and resolve a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit which covers around 15,500 women. The settlement is regarding a class-action lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court initiated in 2017 by three former female employees who had alleged gender discrimination by the tech giant.
According to the settlement press note, plaintiffs’ law firms Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP and Altshuler Berzon LLP have announced that the Plaintiffs have reached an agreement with Google in which the tech giant will pay $118 million to settle a class-action gender discrimination lawsuit, pending since 2017. The settlement covers approximately 15,500 female employees in 236 job titles in California since September 14, 2013.
However, it should be noted that Google has not admitted to wrongdoing as part of the lawsuit settlement. The terms of the settlement need to be approved by a judge, reports say.
In addition to monetary relief, the settlement provides that an independent third-party expert will analyse Google’s leveling-at-hire practices and that an independent labour economist will review the company's pay equity studies. The post-settlement work will be supervised by an external Settlement Monitor over the next three years, the settlement press note added.
The class-action lawsuit had challenged Google’s pay and leveling processes, and the plaintiffs believe these programmes will help ensure that women are not paid less than their male counterparts who perform substantially similar work, and that Google’s challenged leveling practices are equitable.