Google must pay $118 million to settle gender discrimination lawsuit

Casual atmosphere, table football, sofas for napping and pool and the good vibes inherent in a very young workforce. Collective imagination about Working conditions in big technology Triggers and benefits have always been brought up, but the reality isn’t always attractive. Google agreed to pay $118 million to settle a Class Action Discrimination in Pay and Occupation against thousands of female employees. The company also accepts an external review of its hiring and compensation practices. Equality, like inclusion, is a common mantra in the Big Five (your palm, as it is called in the US: Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft), in this case apparently had more screen than reality. Technology companies suffered a significant rally on Wall Street on Monday, affected by generalized declines that, in the case of the Nasdaq, reached 4.68%.

Agreement that must be approved by the judge, Affects approximately 15,500 female Google employees in California who have filled more than 200 jobs Since September 2013 The lawsuit was filed in 2017 In a San Francisco court case by female ex-employees on the grounds that the search engine paid women less than men in equivalent positions, and demoted them to ranks below that of their male colleagues with similar experience and qualifications.

anyway Google “denies all allegations in the lawsuit Claiming that they faithfully complied with all applicable laws, rules and regulations at all times”, the company and the plaintiffs opted for a negotiated solution to “avoid the costs of the procedure”, according to the text of the agreement, under which France gained access to the press. The company is a subsidiary of the parent company, Alphabet.

researcher She had already agreed in 2021 to pay $3.8 million to the US Department of Labor after being accused of discrimination against women and Asians. Most of the $1 million in compensation was used to compensate 2,565 women hired as engineers, as well as 3,000 other candidates, including women and Asians, who were not appointed by the company in similar positions.

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As in the present case, Google denied breaking the law, although it later admitted that it had detected cases of discrimination During a routine internal analysis, he agreed to pay this amount as a clean schedule. The purpose of the amendment was not supported by the ruling on the agreement known on Monday.

Google isn’t the only big tech company being fired for unmodeled practices, when talk of corporate social responsibility and a culture of inclusion and equality permeates more and more prominently the fabric of American business. In October, Tesla, the electric car maker founded by Elon Musk, was ordered to pay $137 million. to a former employee because of racial discrimination. The events took place between 2015 and 2016 at its factory in Fremont (California). Upon learning of the court ruling, the company realized that the working environment at the factory was not ideal, but this does not justify such a harsh ruling.

Tesla, like Amazon, has come under fire repeatedly during the pandemic, especially in its early stage, to provide scant virus safety guarantees for employees. This was one of the reasons workers at Amazon – the country’s second-largest private sector employer – gave to organize unions. The working conditions of the employees also showed the colors of the e-commerce giant.

A computer system capable of feeling?

The truth is, tech companies don’t stop making headlines. In addition to spending the millionaire’s compensation. Google has furloughed one of its engineers after revealing that he believes artificial intelligence (AI) software is capable of harboring emotions. The tech company removed the professional, an elder, shortly after revealing his own experience when interacting with a new artificial intelligence system called LaMda, in its English acronym. According to the vengeful agent, at some point in the conversation, the system claimed that he had feelings that he could not express. “I feel like I’m falling into an uncertain future with great danger,” says the engineer who told him. He said the system.

Google confirmed it His programs imitate conversational models but he asserts that they lack awareness. According to the newspaper The New York TimesWho reported on Monday the feud between the company and the worker, the professional presented to a senator shortly before it was removed evidence that the tech company and its systems were subject to religious discrimination. Another millionaire lawsuit could get out of the pilgrimage episode or, who knows, the blockbuster Hollywood script.

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