Google has agreed to pay $28m (£22m) to settle a class action lawsuit claiming that it favoured white and Asian employees by paying them more and putting them on higher career tracks than other workers.

The accord with Google, a unit of Alphabet, won preliminary approval last week from Judge Charles Adams of the Santa Clara county superior court in California.

He called the settlement fair, reasonable and “a good result for the class” of at least 6,632 Google employees in California between 15 February 2018 and 31 December 2024.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the settlement on Tuesday, but added: “We continue to disagree with the allegations that we treated anyone differently, and remain committed to paying, hiring and levelling all employees fairly.”

The lawsuit was led by Ana Cantu, who identifies as Mexican and racially Indigenous, on behalf of employees from Hispanic, Latino, Indigenous, Native American and other minority backgrounds at Google.

Cantu claimed she performed exemplary work over seven years in Google’s people operations and cloud departments, yet languished at the same job level while white and Asian peers got extra pay and promotions.

She alleged the California-based company put white and Asian employees in higher job “levels” than other employees, even for the same work, and withheld raises and promotions from those who complained.

Cantu argued Google’s actions violated the California Equal Pay Act. She left Google in September 2021.

Adams said the settlement came after Cantu’s lawyers agreed this month to exclude Black employees from the proposed class action, which Google had sought.

Net settlement proceeds total $20.4m, after deducting $7m for legal fees, penalties tied to Cantu’s claim under California’s Private Attorneys General Act, and other costs.

Adams scheduled a hearing in September to consider final settlement approval. Cantu’s lawyers did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment.