Google sued by women for pay discrimination in potential class action suit

Three women have filed a lawsuit against Google, accusing the company of discriminating against female employees by underpaying them and denying them opportunities for promotions. The plaintiffs seek to turn their complaint into a class action lawsuit covering all women who worked at Google within the last four years.

“Google has discriminated and continues to discriminate against its female employees by systematically paying them lower compensation than Google pays to male employees performing substantially similar work under similar working conditions,” the lawsuit claims.

The women say they were placed at lower pay ranks than male co-workers

The suit was filed on behalf of three women — Kelly Ellis, Holly Pease, and Kelli Wisuri — who say they were placed into lower career tracks than their male co-workers and received lower salaries and bonuses because of it. They assert that Google’s actions violate California law, including the California Equal Pay Act, and are asking for lost wages and damages, and for Google to be forced to correct its allegedly discriminatory hiring practices.

Google denies the allegations. “In relation to this particular lawsuit, we’ll review it in detail, but we disagree with the central allegations,” Gina Scigliano, senior manager of corporate communications at Google, writes in an emailed statement. Scigliano also says that Google has “extensive systems in place to ensure that we pay fairly.”

This lawsuit is far from the first claim of gender-based pay discrimination at Google. The US Department of Labor is currently investigating the company’s hiring practices and, earlier this year, testified in court that it found “systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce.” Earlier this month, The New York Times published salary data, compiled by nearly 1,200 Google employees, showing disparities in both salaries and bonuses across pay grades.

Much of the lawsuit revolves around Google’s tiered pay system. Employees on higher tiers typically receive higher salaries and bonuses. “Technical” employees also receive more pay than “non-technical” employees.

September 14, 2017