~ MamakTalk ~: Google Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Gender Pay Disparity

2021年5月31日星期一

Google Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Gender Pay Disparity

Google may soon have to face the court over gender pay disparity. Four women, who are all ex-Google employees, have recently won class-action status for their lawsuit against the company that alleges it of underpaying women employees. A San Francisco state judge certified the class action last week, allowing them to sue the internet giant as a class, rather than each woman needing to sue individually. The four lead plaintiffs are representing 10,800 women who have held various positions at Google since 2013.

The women claim that the Mountain View company pays men more for doing the same job. It also allegedly promotes women employees slowly and less frequently. They are seeking more than $600 million in damages, Bloomberg reports (via). They allege Google has violated California’s Equal Pay Act.

A previous court filing by the plaintiffs states that female employees earn approximately $16,794 less per year than “the similarly-situated man” at Google. They cited an analysis by David Neumark, an economist at the University of California, Irvine. “Google paid women less base salary, smaller bonuses, and less stock than men in the same job code and location,” they said.

The suit also accuses Google of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law. The company allegedly asked job candidates for previous salary information, perpetuating gender pay disparity. It ended this practice in 2017 and sought to dismiss the case. However, a judge denied the request in 2018.

Google accused of gender pay disparity by over 10,000 women

Google has faced scrutiny over gender pay disparity on several occasions in the past. In February this year, the company agreed to pay over $2.5 million to settle Department of Labor allegations. It reportedly underpaid thousands of female workers across various positions.

It is now facing yet another similar lawsuit that demands much more than that. The latest lawsuit was originally brought in 2017. A judge discarded it but the women submitted it again the following year. The lawsuit has now been certified as a class action.

Kelly Dermody, a lawyer representing the women, said they are working to get the case to trial. She expects a court trial to start in 2022. “This is a significant day for women at Google and in the technology sector, and we are so proud of our brave clients for leading the way,” Dermody said. “This order shows that it is critical that companies prioritize paying women equitably over spending money fighting them in litigation.”

Google, meanwhile, has denied the allegations. The company said it regularly conducts analysis to ensure that there’s no gender-based wage inequality of employees. “If we find any differences in proposed pay, including between men and women, we make upward adjustments to remove them before new compensation goes into effect,” a Google statement read.

The company also argued that defending this case in a class action against Equal Pay Act claims would require “boundless individualized testimony” of more than 33,000 employees who perform different kinds of work.

However, Judge Andrew Y.S. Cheng of the San Francisco Superior Court didn’t share the same opinion. “Jobs do not need to be identical or require exactly the same duties” to be “substantially similar” under the Equal Pay Act, he wrote. It now remains to be seen how Google responds.

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