Is Google’s $28M Settlement a Turning Point for Pay Equity?

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Google has agreed to pay $28 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging racial pay discrimination. The lawsuit, led by Ana Cantu, claimed that Google favored White and Asian employees over those identifying as Hispanic, Latinx, Indigenous, Native American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Alaska Native. These groups allegedly received lower compensation for similar work. Cantu’s case was strengthened by a leaked internal pay spreadsheet showing pay disparities.

As part of the settlement, Google will collaborate with a labor economist and an industrial or occupational psychologist. This collaboration aims to scrutinize Google’s annual pay equity audits and review recommendations addressing the lawsuit’s claims, ensuring equitable compensation practices in the future.

Despite agreeing to the settlement, Google denies any wrongdoing. A Google spokesperson stated, “We continue to disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone differently and remain committed to paying, hiring, and leveling all employees fairly.”

This lawsuit and subsequent settlement underscore broader trends of corporate scrutiny regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. In recent years, Google and other U.S. companies have scaled back their diversity efforts, ending diversity hiring targets and removing DEI commitments from their annual SEC reports. This rollback comes amid shifting legal landscapes and rising conservative backlash against DEI policies.

Beth Gunn, a founding partner at Gunn Coble LLP, highlighted the importance of closing loopholes that allow discriminatory wage gaps, emphasizing that doing so would benefit both employees and the state’s tax revenue. Cathy Coble, another founding partner at Gunn Coble LLP, commended Cantu and other Googlers for exposing pay disparities, noting the critical role of collective employee action.

In summary, this settlement represents a significant step towards addressing pay inequity within major corporations and signifies the ongoing struggle for workplace fairness. It also illustrates the tension between corporate DEI commitments and prevailing political and legal pressures, highlighting the complex landscape of civil rights and labor equity in the United States.

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