ORCL Oracle Corp

By Anne Steele and Jay Greene 

The Labor Department sued Oracle Corp., alleging the technology company routinely pays its white male workers more than their counterparts in the same positions.

The suit puts at risk hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts Oracle has won, as the government prohibits contractors from engaging in employment discrimination.

The lawsuit, which comes after the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs reviewed Oracle's equal employment opportunity practices at its Redwood City, Calif., headquarters, alleges that the company has a systemic practice of paying Caucasian male workers more, leading to discrimination against female, African-American and Asian employees.

It also alleges that Oracle has favored Asian workers in its recruiting and hiring practices for product development and other technical roles, resulting in discrimination against non-Asian applicants.

An Oracle spokeswoman said the complaint is "politically motivated", based on false allegations, and without merit.

"Oracle values diversity and inclusion, and is a responsible equal opportunity and affirmative action employer," she said. "Our hiring and pay decisions are nondiscriminatory and made based on legitimate business factors including experience and merit."

President-elect Donald Trump last month named Oracle co-Chief Executive Safra Catz to the executive committee of his transition team. And in September, the Labor Department sued Palantir Technologies Inc. for allegedly discriminating systematically against Asian job applicants since at least January 2010. Palantir's co-founder is Peter Thiel, the billionaire investor serving as a Trump adviser.

The suit comes in the waning days of the Obama administration, and it is unclear how much of an appetite the incoming administration will have for pursuing the litigation.

During the OFCCP investigation, which began in 2014, Oracle refused to comply with the agency's routine requests for employment data and records, according to the Labor Department. The company allegedly refused to provide prior-year compensation data for all employees, complete hiring data for certain business lines, and employee complaints of discrimination. OFCCP tried for almost a year to resolve Oracle's alleged discrimination violations before filing the suit, the agency said.

Oracle, which has received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal government contracts, is prohibited from engaging in employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or national origin and is required to take affirmative action, the department said.

The OFCCP has requested all of the company's government contracts be canceled and that it be debarred from entering into future federal contracts if it doesn't provide the relief ordered in the suit.

The complaint, filed with the Office of Administrative Law Judges, asks the court to enjoin Oracle permanently from discriminating against females, African-Americans and Asians in compensation practices and against African-American, Hispanic and Caucasian applicants in hiring practices. The OFCCP is also seeking relief for lost wages, stock, interest, front wages, salary adjustments, promotions and all other lost benefits of employment and a reform of the alleged discriminatory policies.

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com and Jay Greene at Jay.Greene@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2017 16:40 ET (21:40 GMT)

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