Google Agrees to Settle Age Discrimination Class Action for $11 Million

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Last week a joint motion for approval was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California reflecting a settlement agreement between Google and 227 people alleging age discrimination in hiring by the tech giant. The $11 million settlement will be comprised of a minimum amount of over $11,000 for each plaintiff, as well as additional amounts for lost wages on a case-by case basis. As part of the settlement, Google denies having discriminated on the basis of age. 

In the lawsuit, the class members claimed that between 2007 and 2013, Google’s workforce ballooned to over 30,000 people, but the company’s median employee age was 29 compared to the national average age of 41 in the relevant fields. Google has claimed to have had legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for failing to hire the lead plaintiffs. The settlement must still be approved by the judge in the case.

Additional Reading

Google settles ‘age-discrimination’ class-action lawsuit with more than 200 workers for $11 million , The Mercury News, July 23, 2019

Joint Motion for Settlement, Robert Heath et al. v. Google Inc., filed July 19, 2019, via Justia Dockets

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