Google has agreed to pay $ 2.5 million to more than 5,500 employees and job seekers affected by alleged systematic compensation and rent discrimination. The U.S. Department of Labor has found that female software engineers are underpaid. It also identified ‘tariff differences affecting female and Asian applicants’ for Google engineering positions.
As part of the settlement, Google will hand over $ 1,353,052 refunds and interest to 2,655 female engineers. It also pays $ 1,232,000 in reimbursement and interest to 1,757 female engineering applicants and 1,219 Asian engineering applicants for ‘engineering positions not appointed’.
The alleged inequalities affected employees at Google offices in Mountain View, Seattle and Kirkland, Washington.
Google will also set aside $ 1,250,000 for payment equity adjustments, for a total of $ 3.8 million to resolve this issue. That $ 1.25 million is for engineers in Mountain View, Seattle, Kirkland and New York, which, according to the Department of Labor, house 50 percent of Google’s engineering staff in the US.
The news comes after years of conflict between Google workers and management. In 2018, more than 20,000 employees walked out of work to protest the company’s handling of sexual harassment allegations. Earlier this year, about 230 employees and contractors formed a minority union. The organization, the Alphabet Workers Union, now has more than 800 members. AWU specifically wanted contractors to be part of the union because they are usually left out of account of the high salaries and benefits that full-time employees enjoy.
“Pay discrimination remains a systemic issue,” said Jenny R. Yang, director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. “Employers should conduct regular pay-as-you-go audits to ensure their compensation systems promote equal opportunities.”
In a statement by email to The edge, a Google spokesman said, “We believe that everyone should be paid based on the work they do, not who they are, and that we should invest heavily to make our hiring and compensation processes fair and unbiased. For the past eight years, we have conducted our annual internal wage analysis to identify and address any discrepancies, and we are pleased that we have resolved this issue related to the allegations of the 2014-2017 audits, and remain committed to diversity and equity. and to support our people in a way that enables them to do their best work. ”