The search engine giant is once again slapped with a lawsuit regarding unfair treatment towards women in the workplace. Like the last time Google was hit with a discrimination case, the court also sided with the plaintiff resulting in the company paying up.
Another Discrimination Lawsuit
A Google Cloud executive Ulku Rowe filed the complaint, claiming that the company was favoring its male employees more. Eventually, as the case was taken to court, a jury decided that Google was guilty of sexual discrimination.
Rowe claims that the company was giving her male and less-experienced co-workers higher pay, stating that she was "overshadowed by what I believe are unfair compensation and treatment due to my gender," as reported by The Verge.
She even accused the tech giant of retaliating against her for her complaints by denying her promotions. For instance, the company chose a man who did not apply and was not qualified for the position of vice president, which was a promotion she was working for.
Outten & Golden lawyer Cara Greene said that the "unanimous verdict not only validates Ms. Rowe's allegations of mistreatment by Google," and that it shows that "discrimination and retaliation will not be tolerated in the workplace."
Although the court decided that the plaintiff did not have enough evidence to prove that Google violated New York law regarding lesser pay for being a woman, the jury did rule that she was owed punitive damages, which cost Google $1.1 million.
Of course, Google denied the claims against them for discrimination. The company's spokesperson Courtenay Mencini says that they "thoroughly investigated Ms. Rowe's concerns when she raised them and found there was no discrimination or retaliation."
Not the First Gender Bias Complaint
It's concerning that this is not the first time the search engine giant was accused of treating its female workers unfairly in terms of wages. Just last year in June, Google agreed to pay $118 million as a settlement in a class action suit.
Three out of the four who were involved in the legal action were three former Google employees who already filed a similar lawsuit back in 2017. Upon winning the case, Google had to pay the settlement covering 15,500 women who have been employed in California since 2013.
Google spokesperson Chris Pappas stated: "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."
As reported by The New York Times, he added that they are pleased to have reached the agreement. As part of Google making amends, it will let third-party experts review its pay equity process to show that it treats its employees fairly.
One of the plaintiffs in the class action suit, Holly Pease says: "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."
