The U.S. Department of Labor, which is in the midst of an ongoing investigation into Google, accused the tech giant of violating federal employment laws in regards to its salaries for female employees, according to The Guardian.
Here are five things to know.
1. The Department of Labor made these accusations during a federal court hearing. The hearing was part of a lawsuit the department filed in January, following Google's alleged refusal to provide the government with salary data. Since Google is a federal contractor, it is required to allow the department to inspect information about its compliance with equal opportunity laws.
2. Since the lawsuit was filed, Google representatives said the company already provided records to the government and that the records the Department of Labor requested entailed confidential information. During the hearing, one of Google's attorneys said the request for additional information violated the fourth amendment right to protection from unreasonable searches.
3. The Department of Labor said it found substantial pay disparities in the company's 2015 salary data. The department is requesting earlier data and confidential employee interviews to see if it can determine the root problem. At the hearing, the Department of Labor's lawyers asked the court to cancel Google's federal contracts if it does not comply with the audit.
4. Janette Wipper, a regional director of the Department of Labor, said in court: "We found systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce." Janet Herold, a regional solicitor for the department, told The Guardian although the investigation is not complete, "the government's analysis at this point indicates that discrimination against women in Google is quite extreme, even in this industry."
5. Google denied the Department of Labor's pay discrimination accusations. Google told The Guardian: "We vehemently disagree with [Wipper’s] claim. Every year, we do a comprehensive and robust analysis of pay across genders, and we have found no gender pay gap. Other than making an unfounded statement, which we heard for the first time in court, the DoL hasn't provided any data, or shared its methodology."
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