California Civil Rights Dept. v. Microsoft Corporation - Case No. 24CV442210

If you were an employee of Microsoft Corporation in California and took one or more leaves of absence protected by California and/or federal law from May 13, 2017 to August 9, 2024, you may be a Covered Worker as defined in the Consent Decree and therefore part of this settlement.

What Is This Lawsuit About?

California Civil Rights Department (CRD) has investigated allegations that Microsoft engaged in unlawful employment practices related to protected leaves of absence in violation of California and federal law. Microsoft denies that it engaged in any unlawful conduct. The parties agree the Consent Decree is not a finding or admission of wrongdoing. This lawsuit was filed to resolve the case under the supervision of a judge.

The Court has not decided this case in favor of either side. In July 2024, before the lawsuit was filed, the parties agreed to settle, which means they reached an agreement to resolve CRD’s claims from its investigation into Microsoft. The settlement agreement is memorialized in a document called the Consent Decree. Both sides want to avoid the risk and expense of further litigation. The settlement is on behalf of CRD and any Covered Worker who cashes or deposits their settlement check.

What Does this Settlement Provide?

Microsoft agreed to pay $14,200,000.00 into a settlement fund. This money will be divided among the Covered Workers as described in the Consent Decree and will also be used to pay for the cost of administering this settlement. Covered Workers who cash or deposit their check will release their claims as part of the settlement, which means they cannot sue Microsoft for the same issues in this lawsuit. The full terms of the release can be reviewed in the Individual Release of Claims document on the Important Documents page. The settlement also includes a separate amount of $225,000.00 to settle CRD’s claim for attorneys’ fees and costs.

In addition, Microsoft has committed to provide enhanced training to its managers and human resources personnel concerning leaves of absence protected by California law generally and in connection with its annual Rewards process. The parties have also agreed to engage a third-party consultant who will evaluate Microsoft’s leave-related policies/guidelines in connection with (i) the determination of “impact” and recommending Rewards outcomes to ensure that these policies/guidelines consistently and expressly state that the time an employee is on protected leave shall not be counted against that employee in evaluating that employee’s impact; (ii) the calculation of bonus eligible salary (BES); and (iii) the investigation of employee complaints. The third-party consultant will recommend possible improvements.