Western Digital $7.75 Million Sex Bias Settlement Gets Early Nod

Western Digital Corp.'s $7.75 million proposed settlement of class claims it discriminated against more 1,300 women in pay, promotions, and job placements was preliminarily approved by the Central District of California.

Yunghui Chen accused the company of fostering a male-dominated corporate culture that utilizes a “tap-on-the-shoulder” promotion process and other practices tainted with sex bias. Western Digital’s “forced ranking” incentive-pay system also contributes to the discrimination, she said.

The lawsuit and proposed settlement were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California the same day.

The settlement amount, of which an estimated $4,811,667 will be available ...