March 18 (Reuters) - Google agreed to pay $28 million to

settle a class action lawsuit claiming that it favored white and

Asian employees by paying them more and putting them on higher

career tracks than other workers.

The accord with Google, a unit of Alphabet, won

preliminary approval last week from Judge Charles Adams of the

Santa Clara County Superior Court in California.

He called the settlement fair, reasonable and "a good result

for the class" of at least 6,632 Google employees in California

between February 15, 2018, and December 31, 2024.

Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini confirmed the

settlement on Tuesday, but said, "We continue to disagree with

the allegations that we treated anyone differently, and remain

committed to paying, hiring and leveling all employees fairly."

The lawsuit was led by Ana Cantu, who identifies as Mexican

and racially Indigenous, on behalf of Hispanic, Latinx,

Indigenous, Native American, American Indian, Native Hawaiian,

Pacific Islander and Alaska Native employees at Google.

Cantu said she performed exemplary work over seven years in

Google's people operations and cloud departments, yet languished

at the same job level while white and Asian peers got extra pay

and promotions.

Cantu said the Mountain View, California-based company put

white and Asian employees in higher job "levels" than other

employees, even for the same work, and withheld raises and

promotions from those who complained.

Cantu said Google's actions violated the California Equal

Pay Act. She left Google in September 2021.

Adams said the settlement came after Cantu's lawyers agreed

this month to exclude Black employees from the proposed class,

which Google had sought.

Net settlement proceeds total $20.4 million, after deducting

$7 million for legal fees, penalties tied to Cantu's claim under

California's Private Attorneys General Act, and other costs.

Adams scheduled a September 11 hearing to consider final

settlement approval.

Cantu's lawyers did not immediately respond on Tuesday to

requests for comment.

The case is Cantu v Google LLC et al, California Superior

Court, Santa Clara County, No. 21CV392049.