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Oracle Sued For Discrimination Against Women, Minorities

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The Department of Labor has dragged Oracle to court. It alleges the Silicon Valley company is underpaying women. Also, Asians and black employees working at its headquarter over a course of four years.

 

 

Labor Department will ask 21 current and former Oracle employees to testify that the company violated equal opportunity statutes governing federal contractors at a hearing.

 

The allegation is that Oracle, founded by billionaire Larry Ellison, paid some women as much as 20 percent less than their male colleagues, in 2016.

 

The department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs filed a lawsuit against the company. They audit companies with government contracts worth more than $100 million a year.

 

“The only thing worse than economic discrimination is economic discrimination subsidized by tax dollars,” Janet Herold from the OCCP says in her opening statement.

 

The company’s counsel argued; Oracle doesn’t discriminate. They pointed out that a woman runs the company. As Oracle is led by chief executive Safra Katz.

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This hearing is significant for silicon valley. Because the allegations against Oracle are similar to the department’s claims about other tech giants. This includes Google and Palantir, saying they systemically discriminate against minority and female employees in hiring, pay or promotion.

 

Former employee Kirsten Hanson Garcia testified that during a meeting with top executives in the mid-2000s, the head of human resources said:

 

“Well, if you hire a woman, she will work harder for less money.”

 

Kristen worked for Oracle for more than 16 years, most recently in human resources as senior director of talent development.

 

In November 2019, Oracle filed a lawsuit alleging that the Labor Department’s enforcement action was unlawful.

 

The Agency Plans to Ask For Backpay From Oracle

Oracle’s argument is that the Department of Labor’s expert witness is comparing employees using broad job titles. They failed to take into account that software developers are different. They value one working on Oracle’s product PeopleSoft differently from those working on artificial intelligence.

 

The agency is also arguing that pay disparities are a result of Oracle’s practice of offering minorities lower-paying jobs. This is, in addition, relying on prior salaries in order to set their pay at Oracle.

 

In a recent filing, the judge directed the government to prove that Oracle’s actions were intentional. The judge also said the government doesn’t have to show bad faith in order to prove its claims about disparate treatment.

 

If the agency wins the case, it plans to ask for back pay for discriminatory conduct from 2013 to 2019. This is along with immediate changes to Oracle’s policies. It will also demand the cancellation of all of Oracle’s government contracts. This is in addition to barring the company from future contracts until it complies, according to court documents.

 

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