US government v Silicon Valley: Oracle said to owe $400m to women and minorities

US labor department accuses company of rampant exclusion of black and Hispanic people in hiring and higher pay for white men

The US Department of Labor (DoL) has accused the tech firm Oracle of widespread discrimination against women and people of color, including more than $400m in lost wages and rampant exclusion of black and Hispanic people in hiring.

A federal complaint filed on Tuesday said that out of roughly 500 people hired into technical jobs over a four-year period, only five were Hispanic and only six were African American. The DoL has also alleged that more than 5,000 women have been underpaid, with disparities as high as 20%, and that more than 11,000 Asian employees have been underpaid, with gaps as high as 8%.