The company is expected to pay more than $ 2.5 million to some 5,500 employees and job seekers who are said to have been underpaid or faced discrimination in hiring.
The deal resolves claims that the company had discriminated against Asian women and candidates for engineering positions in some of its West Coast offices. The Department would also have found wage gaps that hurt women in software engineering positions.
“We believe that everyone should be paid based on the work they do, not who they are, and invest heavily to make our hiring and compensation processes fair and impartial,” a Google spokesman said in a statement to CNN Business. “We are pleased to have resolved this issue related to the 2014-2017 audit allegations and remain committed to diversity and equity and to supporting our people in a way that allows them to do their best work.”
As part of the deal, Google will pay more than $ 1.3 million to compensate some 2,500 software engineers who reportedly suffered wage discrimination, according to the Department of Labor. It will also pay more than $ 1.2 million to compensate job seekers who were not hired as a result of alleged discrimination in hiring.
A separate $ 1.25 million fund will be established for five years of “equity adjustments” for Google engineering employees who work in Mountain View, California; two Seattle area offices; and New York.
“Google has agreed to proactively improve future compliance and review its current policies, procedures and practices related to hiring, compensation; conducting reviews and taking corrective measures to ensure non-discrimination,” the Department said in a statement.