Snapchat to pay $15M to settle discrimination, harassment lawsuit in California

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Snapchat Inc. volition wage $15 cardinal to settee a suit brought by California's civilian rights bureau that claimed the institution discriminated against pistillate employees, failed to forestall workplace intersexual harassment and retaliated against women who complained.

The colony with Snapchat Inc., which owns the fashionable disappearing-message app by the aforesaid name, covers women who worked for the institution successful California betwixt 2014 and 2024, the California Civil Rights Department announced Wednesday. The colony is taxable to tribunal approval.

The statement resolves a much than three-year probe implicit claims that the Santa Monica, California-based institution discriminated against pistillate employees erstwhile it came to wage and promotions, the section said successful a statement.

The bulk of the colony wealth volition spell to employees who faced favoritism astatine Snapchat Inc., California officials said.

"In California, we're arrogant of the enactment of our state's innovators who are a driving unit of our nation's economy," said Kevin Kish, manager of California's civilian rights agency. "This colony with Snapchat demonstrates a shared committedness to a California wherever each workers person a just accidental astatine the American Dream. Women are entitled to equality successful each job, successful each workplace, and successful each industry."

Snapchat Inc. said it disagrees with the agency's claims but that it decided to settee to debar costly and lengthy litigation.

"We attraction profoundly astir our committedness to support a just and inclusive situation astatine Snap, and bash not judge we person immoderate ongoing systemic wage equity, discrimination, harassment, oregon retaliation issues against women," the institution said successful a statement.

Snapchat Inc. grew from 250 employees successful 2015 to implicit 5,000 successful 2022. But the maturation didn't construe to advancement for pistillate employees who "were told to hold their turn, were actively discouraged from applying for promotions, oregon mislaid promotion opportunities to little qualified antheral colleagues," California officials said.

In particular, women successful engineering roles, which relationship for astir 70% of Snap's workforce, recovered barriers erstwhile trying to beforehand from entry-level positions, according to the complaint.

California's civilian rights bureau besides said successful its suit that women were sexually harassed and that erstwhile they spoke up, they faced retaliation that included antagonistic show reviews and termination. Male managers routinely promoted antheral employees implicit much qualified women, the bureau said.

"Women were told, some implicitly and explicitly, that they were second-class citizens astatine Snap," the bureau said successful its lawsuit.

The colony volition necessitate the institution to prosecute an autarkic advisor to measure its compensation and promotion policies and clasp an extracurricular auditor of its intersexual harassment, retaliation, and favoritism compliance. The institution volition besides person to bid its unit connected preventing discrimination, retaliation and intersexual harassment successful the workplace, officials said.

Snapchat Inc. besides agreed to supply accusation to each employees astir their close to study harassment oregon favoritism without fearfulness of retaliation.