Pay discrimination lawsuit by 11,000 female employees of Google granted class-action status

Over 10,000 female employees of Google had filed a lawsuit against the company over pay parity has now been granted class-action status. In 2017, several female employees of Google had alleged that Google violated the California Equal Pay Act by paying women less than men for practically doing the same job,

The class-action status means that the women can sue as a class rather than individuals. Expressing her joy over the new order, Kelly Ellis, one of the plaintiff's in the case, tweeted, "This means the judge agreed we can sue as a class, rather than each individual woman needing to sue for relief. This is HUGE.The class includes over 10,800 women affected by Google's gender bias.This is the battle we've been fighting the whole time, so I'm really happy right now. On to winning!" Ellis in one of her tweets had alleged that Google has paid $135M to two male execs who sexually assaulted female employees.

The lawsuit filed by female employees stated that Google has always discriminated and continues to do so by paying women lower compensation as compared to the male employees for doing the same work under the same working conditions.

Kelly Dermody, a lawyer who represented the female employees in this case said in a statement, "This is a significant day for women at Google and in the technology sector, and we are so proud of our brave clients for leading the way. This order shows that it is critical that companies prioritize paying women equitably over spending money fighting them in litigation."

However, Google had defied its salary practices and say that believes in the equity of policies and practices. "We strongly believe in the equity of our policies and practices. If we find any differences in proposed pay, including between men and women, we make upward adjustments to remove them before new compensation goes into effect," a Google spokesperson had said.

Not just Google, other big tech companies in Silicon Valley have also been sued over pay disparity. A week ago, five female employees filed a lawsuit against Amazon over equal pay violations, harassment, discrimination and more. The women worked in different divisions of Amazon. One of the women also called out the racism in the company. Amazon in its defence said that it is investigating that matter and has not found any evidence confirming the allegations made by women employees. "We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment in any form, and employees are encouraged to raise concerns to any member of management or through an anonymous ethics hotline with no risk of retaliation," the company spokesperson said.