Qualcomm settles in $19.5M gender discrimination pre-suit

SAN FRANCISCO – Telecommunications equipment company Qualcomm on Tuesday agreed to pay $19.5 million in a gender discrimination suit brought by female employees who worked in engineering and managerial roles.

The suit was filed by class action law firm Sanford Heisler on behalf of approximately 3,300 women at the San Diego, Calif.-based company.

In a rare “pre-suit” settlement, Qualcomm agreed to settle before the plaintiffs had filed their complaint.

The seven women, both former and current employees of the company, who filed were speaking on behalf of approximately 3,300 women who worked at the chip and semiconductor manufacturing company. Those 3,300 women will automatically be compensated by the settlement, but may choose to opt out.

Qualcomm also agreed to institute significant structural changes to eliminate gender disparities.

The company denied the allegations made but agreed to settle to “avoid the burden and expense of continuing litigation,” according to the settlement agreement.

The suit alleged that upper-level management positions were almost exclusively reserved for men at Qualcomm, with women making up fewer than 15% of “senior leadership positions,” according to federal employment documents filed by the company.

Moving forward, Qualcomm agreed to mandatory diversity training fo those making hiring decisions, annual compensation and promotion analyses across genders and a 24-hour employee complaint hotline.

The company will also hire an internal compliance official to ensure all terms of the settlement are met.

“The promotion rate goals are not quotas; they are designed to provide guidance as to whether Qualcomm is making promotion decisions over time in such a way as to afford equal employment opportunity,” the settlement said.

Qualcomm remains committeed to fair and equal treatment of its employees, Christine Trimble, vice president of public affairs, said in a statement to USA TODAY.

"While we have strong defenses to the claims, we elected to focus on continuing to make meaningful enhancements to our internal programs and processes that drive equity and a diverse and inclusive workforce which are values that we share and embrace," Trimble said in the statement.