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2018 HPE California female employee compensation settlement.  (Updated Sep 16, 2023)

Summary:  HPE California gender pay gap lawsuit settled. After four years of litigation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise is paying $500 to $17,000 to 1,735 women who were actively employed in California by HPE
between Nov 1, 2015 (HP/HPE split) and Sep 1, 2022. Does not include those who signed a waiver and release upon leaving, those who signed an arbitration agreement upon hiring, or college hires.
"The Court has not made any determination of the validity of the claims in the Action. Defendant vigorously denies the claims in the Action and contends that it fully complied with all applicable laws."

Make sure that the legal successor to every company you ever worked for has your current postal address. Even if not classified by the company as a "Retiree" or if long gone -- in case of pension plan changes, employment lawsuits, settlements, or other issues. (HP Inc. is the overall legal successor to companies acquired by Hewlett-Packard before the company was split into HP Inc and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, including DEC, EDS, etc.) Update address at former company: https://www.hpalumni.org/contacts


Summary from Bloomberg News story:

"HP Enterprise to pay $8.5 million to settle gender pay gap suit. ...settlement funds, minus attorney fees and expenses, will go to 1,735 women who worked in the company’s California offices since 2015 [Nov 1, 2015 through Sep 1, 2022]... Awards for each woman will range from $500 to $17,000... Throughout the four years of litigation, the company has denied underpaying its female employees...

"Lawyers for the women described the settlement as 'excellent' and said it represented a recovery of 62% of the amount the women were underpaid. 'Further, this settlement sheds light on gender-based pay disparities, challenging tech companies to review their pay policies and implement pay equity protections...' "

--Sep 29, 2022 news article based on press release from plaintiffs' lawyers: "HP Enterprise to pay $8.5 million to settle gender pay gap suit." https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/09/29/hp-enterprise-to-pay-8-5-million-to-settle-gender-pay-gap-suit/

2018 news article based on press release from plaintiffs' lawyers: "Hewlett Packard Enterprise gave woman dead man’s job, paid her less: lawsuit."
--Nov 9, 2018 https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/11/08/hewlett-packard-enterprise-gave-woman-dead-mans-job-paid-her-less-lawsuit/


Details from the settlement notice:

"Members include all:

"Women (as identified in Defendant's Human Resources Information System, Workday) actively employed in California by Defendant at any point from November 1, 2015 through the date of Preliminary Approval, and
who were employed in one of the job codes set forth on Exhibit A...

"The Class does not include any individual who:
(1) executed a waiver and release;
(2) executed an arbitration agreement with respect to their employment upon hire or otherwise; or
(3) was a college hire as defined by being hired within two years of internship, age at hire is 23 or below with a Bachelor's degree, age at hire is 27 or below with a Master's degree, or age at hire is 30 or below with a Ph.D. degree."

"...The Court has not made any determination of the validity of the claims in the Action. Defendant vigorously denies the claims in the Action and contends that it fully complied with all applicable laws."

"...The Settlement Administrator will be provided with the Total Compensation for each Participating Class Member who worked in a job code listed in the attached Exhibit A during the period of November 1, 2015 to September 1, 2022 as an HPE employee in California. The Settlement Administrator will also be provided with the 'Class Total Compensation,' which is the wages, bonuses and equity as defined by HPE paid to all Participating Settlement Class Members for work performed during the period of November 1, 2015 to September 1, 2022, within a job code classification attached in Exhibit A, as determined by dates of employment in the relevant job classification codes and other qualifying information agreed upon by the Parties."

Exhibit A - "Jobs in Settlement Class" is on pages 7-8.

https://www.equalpaysettlement.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Ross-v-HPE-Settlement-Notice-FNL_WEBSITE.pdf


Other details:

"Of the 1,735 total notices mailed by the administrator, 143 were re-mailed to updated addresses and only 14 were ultimately undeliverable." --Judgment And Final Approval Order https://www.equalpaysettlement.com/?page_id=55

Settlement Payments Distributed: Aug 4, 2023   https://www.equalpaysettlement.com/?page_id=47

Contact the Settlement Administrator: https://www.equalpaysettlement.com/?page_id=61

An objection to the proposed settlement was filed before the final ruling:
"The settlement amount is too low and does not adequately compensate for the wage disparities suffered by class members.
Furthermore, the settlement does not provide for any punitive damages or any measures to ensure that the wage disparities will not continue in the future...
The proposed settlement does not recognize that the discrimination of the employers has a lasting effect on future employment... Disparity in my pay at HPE affected my starting wage at my next employment, even after I left the defendant's company, because of what I made at the time, which kept me in a weaker spot for many years..." 
https://traffic.scscourt.org/search

Plaintiffs' attorneys: Zimmerman Reed (Los Angeles) and Lockridge Grindal Nauen (Minneapolis.)

See also https://www.hpalumni.org/EmploymentLawsuits for discussions of: your ability to sue the company, references on employment law, and summary of HP and HPE employment lawsuits and allegations.

Question? Email: info@hpalumni.org


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