The LinkedIn career network has agreed to pay $ 1.8 million in debt to nearly 700 women to satisfy a complaint of pay discrimination filed by U.S. investigators.
US Department of Labor announced On Tuesday, he reached a settlement agreement with LinkedIn to resolve allegations of “systemic discrimination in pay based on gender” in which women were paid less than men in comparable positions.
The settlement affects women who worked in engineering, product or marketing roles from 2015 to 2017 at the company’s offices in San Francisco and Sunnyvale, California. It includes the time before and after the acquisition of Microsoft LinkedIn for $ 26.2 billion in 2016.
LinkedIn denies pay discrimination and argues that its statistical models do not identify pay disparities. settlement.
“Although we have agreed to settle this issue, we do not agree with the government’s claims,” - said in a statement LinkedIn. statement Monday. “LinkedIn pays and pays its employees fairly and equitably when comparing similar work.”
LinkedIn officials said last year they conducted a payroll survey that found that the company pays female employees $ 0.99 for every dollar earned by men. In the US, colored employees receive the same salary as whites, according to LinkedIn.
The Department of Labor said its own analysis revealed significant pay gaps even after monitoring “legitimate explanatory factors”.
The agency said the case was prompted by a routine assessment conducted by its Office of Federal Contract Performance Programs. Federal laws prohibit discriminatory practices in companies that contract with the federal government, as does LinkedIn.
Of the $ 1.8 million LinkedIn will provide:
- $ 719,592 in debt for women working in engineering in Sunnyvale, plus $ 13,120 in interest.
- $ 370,974 in debt for women working in the Sunnyvale grocery department, plus $ 13,120 in interest.
- $ 232,448 in arrears for women working in engineering in San Francisco, plus $ 13,120 in interest.
- $ 424,506 in debt for women working in marketing in San Francisco, plus $ 13,120 in interest.
Under the agreement, LinkedIn must also conduct training for staff to avoid discriminatory practices, and the company must assess the salaries of its employees over the next three years to make sure they are gender neutral.
These steps will help ensure that “LinkedIn better understands its obligations as a federal contractor and fulfills them in the future,” said Jane Zur, Regional Director of the Federal Contract Program Office. said in the statement.
