Software giant Microsoft on Wednesday will be hit with a five billion dollar employment discrimination suit in federal district court, according to lawyers representing seven plaintiffs.
The complaint will accuse the company of practicing discrimination in its evaluations of employees, as well as in compensation, promotions and termination.
The seven plaintiffs are current and former employees of Microsoft based in Washington DC and in the state of Washington, where the firm has its headquarters, lawyers said in a statement Tuesday.
Asked about the suit, Ginny Trusano, a Microsoft spokeswoman based here, refused to comment specifically on the complaint.
But she insisted that the company "doesn't tolerate discrimination in any of its employment practices and takes any allegations of discrimination very seriously."
"It's a multicultural workplace that enables Microsoft to better serve the needs of customers worldwide," she added.
In their statement lawyers for the plaintiffs said Microsoft in 1999 employed 21,429 people, of whom 2.6 percent were African American. Of the 5,155 managers employed by the company, 1.6 percent were African American, who made up 2.6 percent of Microsoft's 14,001-strong professional workforce.
The plaintiffs are represented by the Florida law firm of Gary, Williams, Parenti, Finney, Lewis, McManus, Watson and Sperando -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
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