Retaliation | HR to receive training as Microsoft agrees to $14m leave discrimination settlement

Microsoft has agreed to pay a $14.4million settlement over claims from the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) that it penalized workers for taking protected forms of leave.

The settlement also requires Microsoft to provide training to managers and its HR teams to prevent future discrimination.

The CRD alleged that since 2017, Microsoft had discriminated and retaliated against employees based in California who took parental, disability, pregnancy, and family care leave.

The filing accused Microsoft of suppressing workers' raises, promotions, and bonuses, with employees who took protected leave reportedly receiving unfairly poor performance reviews.