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Google is settling a racial bias lawsuit for nearly $30 million.
According to a BBC report, the tech corporation has agreed to pay $28 million (£21.5 million) to settle a lawsuit alleging racial bias in pay and career advancement.
The case was filed in 2021 by former Google employee, Ana Cantu, who claimed that workers from Hispanic, Latino, Native American and other backgrounds started on lower salaries and job levels than their white and Asian counterparts.
A law firm representing the claimants added that these reinforced historical race disparities led to long-term pay gaps and limited career growth opportunities. Cantu’s case relied on leaked internal documents that reportedly showed employees from underrepresented backgrounds were paid less for similar work.
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Although the technology giant confirmed it had 'reached a resolution,' it rejected any claims it had engaged in discrimination.
"We reached a resolution, but continue to disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone differently, and remain committed to paying, hiring, and levelling all employees fairly," a Google spokesperson said.
The settlement has been given preliminary approval by Judge Charles Adams of the Santa Clara County Superior Court in California.
It covered 6,632 people who were employed by Google between 15 February 2018 and 31 December 2024, as per Reuters.
Cathy Coble, one of the attorneys representing the affected employees, praised the 'bravery of both the diverse and ally Googlers who self-reported their pay' and exposed the data to the media. "Suspected pay inequity is too easily concealed without this kind of collective action from employees," Coble added.
This lawsuit comes at a time when several major US companies, including Meta, Amazon, McDonald’s, and Walmart, have scaled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their recruitment policies.
This was in response to President Donald Trump's new administration policies.
Back in January, when Trump returned to the White House, he and his allies actively opposed DEI policies by issuing orders to dismantle the programs and instructing federal agencies to compile lists of private companies that could be investigated for their DEI policies.
"We have ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government and, indeed, the private sector and our military," Trump said at the time. "And our country will be woke no longer."
Advocates of these diversity programs argue that they support recruitment, improve employee retention and drive profits.
"Talk to any CEO of a major Fortune 500 company. They’ll tell you that their bottom line, dollar wise, does better when there’s more diversity in the room," justified Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a former civil rights lawyer and a Democrat.
