Chump Change: Microsoft’s LinkedIn to Pay $1.8 Million to Women over Pay Discrimination Claims

Microsoft-owned social media platform LinkedIn has reached an agreement with the Department of Labor to pay $1.8 million to female employees over discrimination claims. According to the government, Linkedin denied almost 700 women equal pay in several California offices.

The New York Times reports that LinkedIn, the Microsoft-owned professional networking platform, has reached a deal with the Department of Labor to pay $1.8 million to female employees who allegedly received less compensation than their male colleagues from 2015 to 2017.

A statement released by the Department of Labor stated that LinkedIn denied 686 women equal pay at its San Francisco office and its headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. According to the conciliation agreement between LinkedIn and the Labor Department, during an evaluation of the company the Department of Labor found that the female employees had been paid  “at a statistically significant lower rate” than their male counterparts even after taking into account “legitimate explanatory factors.”

Jane Suhr, a regional director of the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, said in the agency’s statement: “Our agreement will ensure that LinkedIn better understands its obligations as a federal contractor.”

LinkedIn said in a statement:

Today LinkedIn reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs, following a routine compliance review of compensation practices. The agency claimed that between 2015 and 2017, we paid some female employees in California inconsistently with their peers. While we have agreed to settle this matter, we do not agree with the government’s claims; LinkedIn pays and has paid its employees fairly and equitably when comparing similar work.

LinkedIn has agreed to pay around $1.75 million in back pay and more than $50,000 in interest to the female employees. LinkedIn also agreed to send the agency reports over the next three years as it evaluates its compensation policies and makes adjustments to salaries.

Read more at the New York Times here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com