Google to pay $118 million settlement of pay equity case

Google agreed to pay $118 million to settle a long-running pay-equity case, according to the plaintiffs' law firms Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP and Altshuler Berzon LLP.

The gender discrimination suit, Ellis v. Google, had been pending since 2017. The settlement covers around 15,500 women employees with over 200 job titles in California since September 2013. According to University of California, Irvine economist David Neumark, the tech giant paid women almost $17,000 less than men with the same title.

The settlement also states that an independent third party will analyze Google's job-leveling practices and that an independent labor economist will review the company's pay studies.

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"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,” said plaintiff Holly Pease, who worked at Google for over a decade. 

"Google, since its founding, has led the tech industry," Pease continued. "They also have an opportunity to lead the charge to ensure inclusion and equity for women in tech."

This news comes after Google agreed to pay nearly $3 million last year, in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor — also about gender discrimination. The next step for this latest settlement will be a hearing date for initial settlement approval, which will be set by the court.