A series of troubles continue to plague San Francisco-based Uber with the most recent being a cloud of alleged employee discrimination hovering over the company that specializes in ride-sharing, food delivery and transportation.
In late March, Uber agreed to pay $10 million toward settling a class-action lawsuit brought on by more than 400 female and minority software engineers. The plaintiffs alleged workplace discrimination and that Uber harbored a hostile work environment. The settlement still must be approved in U.S. District Court, and a hearing is scheduled for May 1 in Oakland.
A case watched by many
Although the case is on the other side of the country, many employees, employers, industries, local governments and members of the public from around the U.S. are monitoring it. No workplace should discriminate against its employees.
The Uber lawsuit began when two Latina software engineers claimed that the company discriminated against them, other female engineers as well as engineers of color. Compared with white and Asian male colleagues, they alleged that Uber paid them less money, hired them at lower-level positions, promoted them at a slower pace, and were unfair during performance reviews.
Discrimination can happen in any workplace
The tech industry has long been known to lack diversity as minorities and women are greatly underrepresented in the workplace. Discrimination, though, can happen in any industry and any workplace, and can rear its ugly head in a number of ways based on gender, race, age and religion.
If you’re being discriminated against or faced with a hostile work environment, stand up for yourself. Maintain detailed records of incidents and situations. Compare notes with colleagues who may be dealing with similar experiences. Report incidents to managers or the human resources team.
However, if your actions don’t lead to any changes, you may consider legal action.
