The plaintiffs in the lawsuit hold many positions in the company such as engineer, sales representative, manager, preschool teacher. The lawsuit first began in 2017, after three women filed a complaint against Google for paying low salaries to female workers, citing a salary gap of about $17,000. The complaint also accuses the company of imposing them on lower jobs, leading to low salaries and bonuses compared to male colleagues.
In May 2021, a four-year scandal was elevated by a San Francisco judge to a class action lawsuit. That is, the plaintiffs are grouped together rather than having to provide individual evidence to accuse Google.
Also in 2021, Google agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging that the company paid low salaries to female engineers and disregarded female candidates in Asia for jobs. The California Department of Employment and Housing (DFEH) is also investigating the company's complaints of harassment and discrimination against female employees of black skin.
Goolge is one of many technology companies that have encountered scandals over labor issues related to workplace culture, wages and recruitment in recent years. Big companies like Uber, Twitter, and Microsoft have also faced similar problems.
In addition to the huge compensation, the court ordered Google to have a third expert analyze personnel operations and an independent labor economist to conduct an equal work review of the company's employee salary regime for the next 3 years.
This agreement between the two parties must be certified by a judge before it can be carried out, the next trial is scheduled to take place on June 21.
