LinkedIn announced on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with the US Department of Labor to pay $1.8 million to female employees to settle pay discrimination claims.  

US labor investigators said LinkedIn had, between 2015 and 2017, denied 686 women equal pay at its San Francisco office and at its headquarters in California.

The women — the majority of whom worked in engineering, marketing and product roles — had been paid “at a statistically significant lower rate” than their male counterparts, even after taking into account “legitimate explanatory factors,” the investigators said.

In response, LinkedIn said, “While we have agreed to settle this matter, we do not agree with the government’s claims; LinkedIn pays and has paid its employees fairly and equitably when comparing similar work.”

LinkedIn, which employs more than 19,000 people worldwide, reported that, last year, its female employees made $0.999 for every dollar its male employees earned.

While women in the US have generally been paid less than men, LinkedIn is obliged under a 1965 executive order to provide “equal opportunity” to its employees and cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, gender identity or other factors.

“Our agreement will ensure that LinkedIn better understands its obligations as a federal contractor,” Jane Suhr, a regional director of the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, said.

The settlement includes around $1.75 million in back pay and more than $50,000 in interest to be paid to the women.

LinkedIn also agreed to send the agency reports over the next three years as it evaluates its compensation policies and makes salary adjustments.

Furthermore, the company agreed to run an employee training program on “non-discrimination obligations.”

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January that, in 2021, women working full time earned about 83 percent of what their male counterparts did.

Tech companies have faced particular scrutiny over what critics say are failures to provide equal opportunities to women and people of color.

In February 2021, Google reached a $3.8 million settlement with the Labor Department amid accusations that its hiring and compensation decisions discriminated against female and Asian employees and applicants.