Google to settle pay discrimination case with $118M payout

Google will settle its discrimination class-action lawsuit by agreeing to pay $118 million. The case is related to the allegations that the company underpaid women.

Then again, despite the monetary relief that it agreed to provide, the tech company still denied it committed any wrongdoing. Google is just trying to resolve the claims that were leveled against it by four women who said there are widespread pay biases within the company.

Aside from the multi-million settlement, Google also agreed to allow outsiders to review its pay practices. The settlement will cover around 15,000 staff working for the company under 236 job posts in California since Sept. 14, 2013. The job titles are only those that are covered in the case.

According to The New York Times, in 2017, three former Google workers filed a suit against the company, and the case was known as the Ellis vs. Google LLC. They alleged that the tech firm paid more to men employees than women who were also doing the same job. Later, a fourth plaintiff came forward and was added to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs named in the case are Kelly Ellis, Holly Pease, Kelli Wisuri, and Heidi Lamar. At any rate, it was noted that Google always prided itself on favoring equality at all times, so this long-running legal dispute has been an uncomfortable matter for the company. Now a Superior Court Judge in San Francisco is set to approve the settlement.

Once the formal approval is handed down by the judge, Google will let a third-party monitor how it will improve its pay equity process and be fair when determining rank and pay for newly-hired staff. The plaintiffs' law firms, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP and Altshuler Berzon LLP, also said that there would also be an outsider that will keep the company under observation to see if it is following the recommendations of the experts.

"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," Holly Pease said in a statement regarding the settlement. "Google, since its founding, has led the tech industry. They also have an opportunity to lead the charge to ensure inclusion and equity for women in tech."

Kelly Dermody, the plaintiffs' co-counsel, further added, "Plaintiffs believe this settlement advances gender equity at Google and will be precedent-setting for the industry."