Apple accused in lawsuit of underpaying female workers in California
https://www.reuters.com/technology/apple-accused-lawsuit-underpaying-female-workers-california-2024-06-13/
Apple accused in lawsuit of underpaying female workers in California
By Daniel Wiessner
June 13, 2024 3:18 PM EDT Updated an hour ago
June 13 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab on Thursday was hit with a proposed class action accusing the tech giant of paying more than 12,000 female employees in California less than men with comparable jobs.
The lawsuit filed in state court in San Francisco by two women who have worked at Apple for more than a decade claims the company systematically underpays female workers in its engineering, marketing, and AppleCare divisions.
Apple bases workers' starting pay on their salaries at previous jobs or on their "pay expectations," which results in lower pay rates for women, according to the complaint. The lawsuit also claims that Apple's performance evaluation system, which it uses to set raises and bonuses, is biased against women.
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The plaintiffs are represented by class action law firms Outten & Golden, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll and Altshuler Berzon. The firms have brokered massive settlements in other sex bias cases, including a $215 million deal with Goldman Sachs last year and a $175 million settlement with Sterling Jewelers in 2022. Those companies denied wrongdoing.
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Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis, Alexia Garamfalvi and Josie Kao