Google will pay nearly $ 2.6 million for allegations that it underpaid thousands of female workers, and discriminated against female and Asian job seekers.
As part of the ‘early resolution’ mediation agreement announced by the Department of Labor on Monday, the giant in Silicon Valley will review its rental and payment practices.
The agency found “preliminary indicators” of bias at five Google sites in Washington and California during a routine audit of affirmative action commitments.
Under the January 15 agreement, the Department of Labor will not audit 39 Google locations for the next five years.
The refund will be available to more than 2,500 women who worked at the company in 2017 at Kirkland, Wash., And Seattle, and Mountain View, California, in 2014 and 2015.
Another 3,000 female and Asian applicants for positions at Google’s offices in San Francisco, Sunnyvale, California and Kirkland will also be eligible for payment between 2016 and 2017.
A Google spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the settlement.