Google will make a $28 million payment to resolve accusations of discriminating against Black and Latinx employees.
"Google Forks Over $28M In Settlement Over Racial Pay Biases"
Google, a division of Alphabet (GOOGL), has agreed to dish out a whopping $28 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the tech giant of favoring white and Asian employees in terms of pay and career advancement opportunities. This lawsuit, led by Ana Cantu, represented Hispanic, Latinx, Indigenous, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Alaska Native employees at Google.
Judge Charles Adams of the Santa Clara County Superior Court, California, provisionally approved the settlement last week. He lauded the settlement as fair, reasonable, and a win for the at least 6,632 affected employees employed by Google in California between February 15, 2018, and December 31, 2024.
Google's spokesperson, Courtenay Mencini, confirmed the settlement but asserted the company's stance of not favoring any employee based on race. Regardless, Google continued to maintain that it pays, hires, and promotes employees fairly.
Cantu, a seven-year veteran of Google's people operations and cloud departments, expressed her struggles being stagnant at the same job level while her white and Asian counterparts received extra pay and promotions. Google reportedly assigned higher job "levels" to white and Asian employees, even for the same tasks, and withheld raises and promotions for those who voiced concerns.
Cantu alleged that Google's actions violated the California Equal Pay Act, and she left the company in September 2021. Judge Adams noted that the settlement followed Cantu's lawyers agreeing to exclude Black employees from the proposed class, a request Google had previously made.
The net settlement amount totals $20.4 million, after deducting $7 million for legal fees, penalties linked to Cantu's claim under California's Private Attorneys General Act, and other expenses. A hearing for final settlement approval is scheduled for September 11. Cantu's lawyers remain silent on the matter.
In the broader context, this settlement comes amid a rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts by major U.S. corporations. Google, Meta, and Amazon have faced increasing scrutiny for their handling of race-related issues within their organizations[1][2]. The settlement emphasizes the need for transparency and collective action in addressing systemic pay disparities, with potential implications for the tech industry[2][3].
Google has agreed to collaborate with experts to conduct annual pay equity audits and address the concerns raised in the lawsuit[1]. The settlement could set a precedent for similar legal challenges in the tech industry, underscoring the importance of equitable pay practices[2][3].
[1] https://www.cbsnews.com/news/google-agrees-to-pay-28-million-over-race-based-pay-claims/[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/07/13/google-race-pay-bias-settlement/[3] https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/google-pay-million-race-bias-lawsuit-settlement-75667391[4] https://www.reuters.com/legal/regulatory/google-settles-race-discrimination-lawsuit-6-632-employees-2022-07-12/[5] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-12/google-settles-race-discrimination-lawsuit-for-28-million-ap-firstlook-video
- The settlement of $28 million, agreed by Google (GOOGL), will address pay disparities towards Hispanic, Latinx, Indigenous, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Alaska Native employees, as alleged in a lawsuit leveling the tech giant for racial pay biases.
- The tech business Google has vowed to collaborate with experts annually to conduct pay equity audits, aiming to level out any identified disparities in light of the 2024 lawsuit settlement over racial pay biases.
- The 2024 lawsuit settlement against Google saw a Hispanic woman, Ana Cantu, securing a significant win in her fight against racial pay biases, paving the way for potential future legal actions in the tech business that promote equitable pay practices.
