A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Google for gender discrimination in the US and is to be settled by paying damages of $ 118 Million. It includes around 15,500 women in 236 job titles. 

In 2017, Holly Pease, Kelly Ellis, Heidi Lamar, and Kelli Wisuri filed this lawsuit, accusing the company of underpaying female employees, thereby violating California’s Equal Pay Act. There was a wage gap of around $17,000 between male and female employees. They were employees of Google in California since September 14th, 2013. It is also alleged that female employees in Google are restricted to lower career tracks as compared to men and are getting underpaid, with fewer bonuses and incentives.

Google’s treatment of employees has been highlighted and scrutinized many times. In the year 2017, former Google employees sued the company in a San Francisco Court, accusing them of paying women lesser salaries and offering them lower job positions than men. For underpaying female engineers and disregarding Asian job applicants, Google had agreed to pay a compensation of $2.5 Million and settle the matter.

Besides the monetary relief, the settlement provides that Google’s leveling-at-hire practices will be analyzed by an Independent third-party expert and Google’s pay equity studies will be reviewed by an independent labor economist. An external settlement monitor will supervise the post-settlement work over the next three years.

The contention of the plaintiff is that the lawsuit will help ensure that women are not underpaid as compared to their male counterparts in spite of performing similar work. However, Google denied all the allegations and maintains that it has complied with the applicable laws, rules, and regulations.

California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is investigating the company over complaints of potential harassment and discrimination against African-American female employees. Things are not looking good for Google as of now.

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