Google has agreed to pay $28 million to resolve a class action lawsuit that alleged the tech giant gave preferential treatment to white and Asian employees by offering them higher pay and placing them on more advanced career tracks than other workers.
The settlement, which involves Google’s parent company Alphabet, received preliminary approval last week from Judge Charles Adams of the Santa Clara County Superior Court in California.
He described the settlement as fair, reasonable, and “a good result for the class” of at least 6,632 Google employees in California between February 15, 2018, and December 31, 2024.
According to Reuters, confirming the agreement on Tuesday, Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini said, “We continue to disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone differently, and remain committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees fairly.”
The lawsuit was spearheaded by Ana Cantu, who identifies as Mexican and racially Indigenous, representing Hispanic, Latinx, Indigenous, Native American, American Indian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander and Alaska Native employees at the company.
Cantu said she performed exemplary work over seven years in Google’s people operations and cloud departments, yet languished at the same job level while white and Asian peers got extra pay and promotions.
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Cantu said the Mountain View, California-based company put white and Asian employees in higher job “levels” than other employees, even for the same work, and withheld raises and promotions from those who complained.
Cantu said Google’s actions violated the California Equal Pay Act. She left Google in September 2021.
Judge Adams noted that the agreement followed a decision by Cantu’s lawyers earlier this month to exclude Black employees from the proposed class, a move that had been sought by Google.
After deductions for legal fees, penalties under California’s Private Attorneys General Act, and other costs, the net settlement amount totals $20.4 million.
A final settlement hearing has been scheduled for September 11. Cantu’s legal team did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
The case is Cantu v Google LLC et al, California Superior Court, Santa Clara County, No. 21CV392049.
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