Insurance service company, Farmers Insurance Group, Inc., agreed to pay $4 million to 300 of their female claim litigators who worked for the company over the past four to five years in a proposed settlement filed last week regarding a pay-discrimination lawsuit.
The company will also pay an additional $1.8 million in the settlement for attorney's fees, along with reforms in its business practices such as providing more female attorneys with better-compensated positions.
The lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Lynne Coates, alleged that Farmers placed a $100,000 lid on her salary, while a male colleague was paid up to $200,000. She also reported that she was demoted when she complained to the company.
The plaintiffs are being represented by San Francisco based attorney Lori Andrus.
The settlement has yet to be approved by U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh of the Northern District of California.
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