SEATTLE – A federal judge has allowed a class-action lawsuit alleging gender discrimination by Microsoft to proceed.
U.S. District Judge James Robart of Seattle in an order Friday denied the company’s request to dismiss key claims by women in the suit.
The judge said three women suing Microsoft were specific enough in their claims. He also said they presented a plausible case that Microsoft’s pay and promotion practices had the effect of treating female and male engineers differently.
Microsoft said the performance review system was not arbitrary, and has denied the women’s allegations of discrimination.
