Google to pay $118 million after being accused of underpaying 15,500 women

The company will pay $118 million to resolve a class action lawsuit. The agreement will release the company from claims that it paid women less than men for the same work, that it assigned women to lower levels than it assigned men, and that it failed to pay all wages due to employees upon their separation of employment.

According to the announcement on Saturday, the settlement covers about 15,500 women who have worked for the company in California. In addition to their regular share from the net settlement fund, the four named plaintiffs will be getting separate payouts. There are 236 job titles covered by the settlement class.

After attorneys' fees and other expenses, the net settlement fund will provide an average of about $5,500 for each class member. According to the lawsuit, women were paid less than men in base pay, bonus, and stock.

The California Equal Pay Act is one of the laws alleged to have been violated by the company. A judge in San Francisco County Superior Court is expected to approve the settlement.

An independent labor economist will review the pay equity studies and an independent third-party expert will analyze the leveling-at-hire practices. The work will be monitored over the next three years. According to the lawsuit, the programs will help ensure that women are not paid less than their male counterparts who perform the same work, and that the challenged leveling practices are fair.

“More equity for women”

Ellis was a software engineer at the Mountain View office for about four years before he was promoted to senior manager. Holly Pease worked for Google for about 10 years in various technical leadership roles, and she was one of three people who worked for the company.

As a woman who's spent her entire career in the tech industry, I'm optimistic that the actions Google has agreed to take as part of this settlement will ensure more equity for women. About 45% of the employees in the Bay Area work for the internet giant.

The settlement states that the additional payments are intended to compensate the class representatives for the risks they took bringing the case, including but not limited to enduring potential for career or reputational harm.

According to a statement provided to Ars, the company admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement and conducts regular pay equity reviews that result in raises.

While we strongly believe in the equity of our policies and practices, after nearly five years of litigation, both sides agreed that resolution of the matter, without any admission or findings, was in the best interest of everyone, and we're very pleased to reach this agreement. We are absolutely committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees fairly and equally and for the past nine years we have run a rigorous pay equity analysis to make sure salaries, bonuses and equity awards are fair.

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, and we'll continue to do that. In 2020 alone, we made upward adjustments for 2,352 employees, across nearly every demographic category, totaling $4.4 million. We also undertake rigorous analyses to ensure fairness in role leveling and performance ratings. We're very happy to have an advisor look at these processes and make recommendations for future improvement.