Uber to pay $2.8 million over sexual harassment

Uber will pay tens of thousands of dollars to dozens of current and former employees. Photo / AP

Uber has agreed to pay tens of thousands of dollars to dozens of current and former employees for its role in a sexual harassment scandal.

The US transport app will pay a total of US$1.9 million ($2.8m), or almost US$34,000 per person, to 56 people who filed claims against the company, according to court documents filed in California this week.

Almost 500 workers will also receive on average US$11,000 each for alleged pay disparities affecting women and minorities, following a class-action lawsuit.

The settlement is the latest chapter in a long-running scandal at Uber, which exploded last year when a former employee's online post revealed a culture of sexual harassment.

The widely shared blog written by Susan Fowler, who had been a software engineer at the company, triggered an internal investigation that led to 20 employees being fired and the departure of Uber's founder Travis Kalanick, as well as inspiring a wider backlash across Silicon Valley.

Three female engineers launched a class-action lawsuit against the company last year, claiming they were paid less than their male and white or Asian co-workers.

The payouts disclosed this week are part of a US$10m settlement Uber agreed in March, although they will not be finalised until November, giving claimants in the lawsuit time to object. Uber said it was happy with the settlement.

"We agree with the plaintiff's motion which states that 'the class has responded extremely favourably to the settlement' with amounts that are fair, reasonable, and adequate," the company said.

It added that it had overhauled how it pays its employees, improved how it appraises workers and began publishing statistics on diversity.

The changes come as part of an overhaul meant to rehabilitate Uber's image under its new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, who replaced Kalanick last year.

Khosrowshahi has been tasked with fixing a series of problems at the company, including patching up relationships with regulators and drivers, and stemming the company's heavy losses ahead of a proposed flotation next year.

Uber remains under investigation by US regulators over claims of gender discrimination.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched an inquiry last year, and last month its HR chief Liane Hornsey left the company amid claims she ignored complaints about discrimination.