MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Search giant Google has reached a $3.84 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve allegations of systemic compensation and hiring discrimination at the company's California and Washington State facilities.
The disparities were found during a routine compliance evaluation by the labor department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
The labor department had found pay disparities affecting female employees in software engineering positions at its facilities in Mountain View, Seattle and Kirkland.
The agency also identified hiring rate differences that disadvantaged female and Asian applicants for software engineering positions at Google's locations in San Francisco, Sunnyvale and Kirkland.
The settlement amount will be paid to more than 5,500 current employees and job applicants. It includes a total of $2.58 million in back pay and interest to 2,565 female employees in engineering positions subject to pay discrimination as well as 1,757 female and 1,219 Asian applicants for software engineering positions not hired.
Additionally, an amount of at least 1.25 million will be set aside as cash reserve for pay-equity adjustments over the next five years for U.S. employees in engineering positions at Google's Mountain View, Kirkland, Seattle and New York establishments.
Google has also agreed to enhance future compliance proactively and review its current policies, procedures and practices related to hiring, compensation; conduct analyses; and take corrective action to ensure non-discrimination.
Google said in a statement, 'We believe everyone should be paid based upon the work they do, not who they are, and invest heavily to make our hiring and compensation processes fair and unbiased.'
Recently, the National Labor Relations Board or NLRB filed a complaint against Google for violating US labor laws by spying on workers illegally and firing them following protests.
The complaint relates to two employees, Laurence Berland and Kathryn Spiers, both of whom were fired by the company in late 2019 in connection with organizing employee protests.
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