LinkedIn Agrees to Pay $1.8 Million to Women Over Discrimination Claims

The US Department of Labor said on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with the professional networking platform to compensate female employees who were paid less than their male colleagues.

According to the statement released by the agency, 686 women were denied equal pay at the San Francisco office of LinkedIn. Engineering, marketing and product roles were held by the women.

The agency found that the women in question had been paid at a statistically significant lower rate than their male counterparts even after taking into account legitimate explanatory factors.

Jane Suhr, a regional director of the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, said in the agency's statement that the agreement will ensure that LinkedIn better understands its obligations as a federal contractor.

In a statement on Tuesday, Microsoft denied that it discriminated against certain employees.

While we have agreed to settle this matter, we do not agree with the government's claim.

According to the agreement, the settlement includes back pay and interest of more than $50,000.

The Labor Department said that LinkedIn agreed to send agency reports over the next three years as it evaluates its compensation policies and makes salary adjustments. The company agreed to run an employee training program.

Last year, the female employees of LinkedIn made more than the male employees. According to the company's website, it employed more than 19,000 people worldwide.

LinkedIn pays and has paid its employees fairly and equitably, the company said in a statement.

Equal opportunity and discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity or other factors are not allowed by federal contractors.

Women in the United States are paid less than men. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January that women working full time earned 83 percent of what men did.

Tech companies have faced scrutiny over what critics say are failures to give equal opportunities to women and people of color.

The Labor Department accused the company of making hiring and compensation decisions that discriminated against female and Asian employees.

In order to resolve allegations that it discriminated against women and people of color, the company pledged $50 million in November 2021.