The text of the complaint specifies that the plaintiffs bring this class action "on behalf of themselves and on behalf of a class defined as all women" employed at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, California.
"Google has discriminated and continues to discriminate against its female employees by paying female employees less than male employees with similar skills and duties; by assigning and keeping woman in job ladders with lower advancement opportunities than those to which men with similar skills are assigned; and by promoting fewer women and promoting women more slowly than it has promoted men," the complaint outlines.
None of the plaintiffs are currently employed by Google. They left Google’s Mountain View office between 2014 and 2016.
"We’ve been talking about these issues for a long time, and it hasn’t really changed. There’s been a lot of PR and lip service, but… this is going to be one of the only ways to get these companies to change how they hire and compensate women," Kelly Ellis, one of the three plaintiffs, told The Guardian.
Google, however, disputes the claims in the lawsuit and said its in-house analysis shows no gender-based pay discrimination.
"Job levels and promotions [at Google] must pass multiple levels of review, including checks to make sure there is no gender bias in these decisions. And we have extensive systems in place to ensure that we pay fairly," spokesperson Gina Scigliano said.
In April, the US Labor Department accused the Alphabet Inc.-owned Google of "systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce." The company vehemently denied the allegations.
In January, the US Labor Department sued to bar Google from doing business with the federal government until it released thousands of documents related to an audit over its pay practices.
