Oracle Sued by US Over Alleged Discriminatory Pay, Hiring

Oracle America Inc. was sued by the Obama administration over claims it pays white, male workers more than other colleagues doing the same jobs.

The company’s compensation policies discriminate against women and black and Asian employees, the U.S. Labor Department said in an administrative complaint filed Wednesday. The agency also alleged Oracle favors hiring Asian workers for product development and other technical jobs.

If Oracle doesn’t change its practices, the department will seek to cancel the company’s federal government contracts, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and bar it from winning new ones, according to a government statement.

“The complaint is politically motivated, based on false allegations, and wholly without merit," Oracle spokeswoman Deborah Hellinger said in an e-mailed statement.

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

The case against Oracle comes on the same day the Obama administration took two last-minute swipes at JPMorgan Chase & Co., accusing the lender in separate lawsuits of discriminating against minorities in home lending and against its own female employees by paying them less than their male counterparts.

The bank disputed both sets of claims and pledged to fight the gender lawsuit, while agreeing to pay $55 million to settle the race case, according to a person familiar with the matter.