Google reached a settlement with 227 people after being accused of age discrimination. The class action lawsuit claimed that Google discriminated against older people applying for jobs. The payout averaged to about $35,000 per person.
Part of the agreement requires Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company) to enforce training on age bias for all of their employees. In an attempt to help age diversity, Alphabet Inc. is also required to develop a board with the purpose of imposing diversity when recruiting. The board will also be in charge of thoroughly investigating complaints in regards to age bias.
Last November, twenty thousand Google workers protested the company’s sexual harassment policies by walking off the job. The walk-off was propelled by a New York Times piece which brought to light a $90 million exit package given to an executive by Google after a sexual harassment accusation.
The organizers of the walkout made five demands to help protect and prevent from sexual harassment in the workplace. In Google’s stride to better their sexual harassment policies, employees are now required to do sexual harassment training annually as opposed to the training they were receiving every two years.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act states that there is to be no discrimination against workers over the age of forty when it comes to hiring, promotions, wages, benefits, and termination. The woman who brought on the case against Google claimed that she had interviewed with Google four times over seven years for jobs which she was well qualified for. Although her experience and knowledge seemed sufficient for the job, she was never offered a position. Google continues to deny these claims.
Implementing training for your employees, especially managers, is a proactive way to abolish ignorance when it comes to age bias. Learn about age discrimination and make sure your employees are briefed on the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Also, have a process in place for reporting age bias. Having a well-known policy in place helps promote a healthy atmosphere for your employees.