U.S. Department of Labor Claims Oracle Underpaid Women, Minorities By $400 Million

In a new complaint that builds on a filing from 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor alleges that "Oracle used discriminatory hiring and compensation practices and later destroyed evidence," according to an article posted yesterday by CNBC.

The new federal filing is accessible here for public viewing. In it, the Department of Labor accuses Oracle of discriminating against women, Asians, and African Americans in terms of compensation at its headquarters in Redwood Shores, Calif. The Department of Labor claims that Oracle "suppressed starting salaries for its female and non-White employees, assigned them to lower level positions and depressed their wages over the years they worked at Oracle."

Oracle Executive Vice President and General Counsel Dorian Daley commented on the claims in a statement to TechCrunch today, saying they "[rely] on cherry picked statistics rather than reality."

"We fiercely disagree with the spurious claims and will continue in the process to prove them false. We are in compliance with our regulatory obligations, committed to equality, and proud of our employees," Daley said.

The Department of Labor alleges that Oracle discriminated against women and minorities by allegedly setting these employees' starting pay based on prior salary, according to CNBC, as well as allegedly "channeling" these groups into lower-paying career tracks. The Department of Labor claims that these practices caused employees to lose $400 million in compensation.

The Department of Labor's complaint also claims that since at least 2013, Oracle has established a strong preference for hiring Asian college and university graduates. According to the complaint, "of the approximately 500 college and university hires made by Oracle from 2013 to 2016, approximately 450, or 90%, were Asian." It also claims that in several years, Oracle allegedly hired zero black or Hispanic recent college and university graduates.

Additionally, the complaint alleges that Oracle has shown a preference for hiring Asian visa-holders. Since visa-holding employees rely on Oracle for authorization to work in the U.S., the situation "lends itself to suppression of that workforce's wages," the complaint says.

The Department of Labor also alleges in the complaint that Oracle "destroyed records relating to its hiring process as the case was ongoing."