LinkedIn Gives $1.8 MN To Settle Pay Discrimination Case

• Roshan Amiri
• . May 10, 2022
• . Update: May 10, 2022 2:33 pm
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To resolve a pay discrimination case brought by US labor investigators, LinkedIn has promised to compensate USD 1.8 million in unpaid wages to approx 700 female employees.

The US Labor Department stated on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with LinkedIn to resolve charges of structural, gender-based pay discrimination in which females in comparable job responsibilities were paid less than males.

Approximately 700 females who worked in engineering, product, or marketing roles at the company’s San Francisco and Sunnyvale locations from 2015 to 2017 are affected by the settlement. It covers the period between Microsoft’s USD 26.2 billion takeover of LinkedIn in 2016 to now.

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According to the settlement agreement, LinkedIn denies pay discrimination and claims that its analytical models failed to detect wage inequalities. Even after correcting for legitimate explanatory factors, the government found considerable salary inequalities, according to its own investigation.

The investigation was initiated by a normal examination by the government’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, according to the agency. Companies that work with the federal government are prohibited from engaging in discriminatory actions under federal law.

Official Statements by LinkedIn

Microsoft-owned LinkedIn, issued a statement on Tuesday denying that it discriminated against some employees. The statement mentioned, “While we have agreed to settle this matter, we do not agree with the government’s claim.”

According to the settlement agreement, the settlement includes almost $1.75 million in back wages and over $50,000 in interest payments to the women workers.

According to LinkedIn, female employees earned $0.999 per each dollar earned by male employees last year. According to the company’s website, it employs over 19,000 employees worldwide. They clarified, “LinkedIn pays and has paid its employees fairly and equitably when comparing similar work.”

Unacceptable Pay Discrimination

According to a 1965 executive order, federal companies, such as LinkedIn, must provide “equal opportunity” to their employees and cannot discriminate based on sex, gender identity, or other considerations.

Females in the United States have historically been paid less than males. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, full-time working women in 2021 will earn around 83 percent of their male colleagues.