Kathmandu, May 30. Leading search engine Google has landed in legal trouble as 10,800 women have filed a lawsuit against the company. The women have said that gender pay gaps exist in the company and women employees are paid less than their male counterpart employees.

It is said that the case seeks more than $600 million in damages. Four women have been announced representatives by a San Fransisco state judge. The women have alleged violations of California’s Equal Pay Act, accusing the company of paying approximately $16,800 less per year than a “similarly-situated man”.

Kelly Dermody, a lawyer representing the women said, “This order shows that it is critical that companies prioritize paying women equitably over spending money fighting them in litigation”.

Similar cases were filed by women working in companies such as Oracle, Walmart, Twitter and Microsoft. The women, however have not been able to convince the judges against the gender pay gap that exist in these companies.

Google, however has said that the claims are unfounded and that the company analyzes pay every year to make sure salaries, bonuses and equity awards are fair. The company also sought the case to be dismissed, but the court denied it.

The women sued Google in 2017. The trials are expected to start in 2022.