⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

Palantir Settles Discrimination Claims for $1.7 Million The company will have to pay back wages and the value of stock options to several Asian candidates it passed over for employment, in addition to re-extending job offers.

By Tom Brant

entrepreneur daily

This story originally appeared on PCMag

via PC Mag

Palantir, a data-mining firm that counts controversial Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel among its co-founders, will pay $1.7 million to the U.S. Department of Labor to settle claims of racial discrimination.

The Department of Labor announced the settlement on Wednesday, which orders Palantir to pay back wages and the value of stock options to Asian applicants against whom it discriminated in the original hiring process. Eight of the applicants will also get new job offers from the company as part of the settlement.

In a complaint filed last year, the Department of Labor alleged that Palantir used a hiring process and selection procedure that would make it harder for Asian applicants to get software engineering positions. Asian applicants were "routinely eliminated" in the resume-screening and telephone-interviewing processes in favor of white employees, according to the complaint.

Since Palantir's clients include federal government agencies, it is prohibited from discriminating against applicants on the basis of race, color, sex or national origin. The settlement does not hold Palantir liable for its hiring practices, but without it, the company would have risked the loss of its federal contracts.

"We disagree with the allegations made by the Department of Labor," Palantir said in a statement to The Guardian. "We settled this matter, without any admission of liability, in order to focus on our work. We continue to stand by our employment record and are glad to have resolved this case."

Palantir was founded in 2003 by former PayPal co-founder and CEO Peter Thiel, among others. The FBI, the U.S. Special Operations Command and the U.S. Department of the Army all use its data analysis products, which include cyber security and anti-fraud tools. Given its close relationship with federal law enforcement, questions arose last fall about whether Palantir would be willing to create a Muslim registry for the Trump administration. Palantir CEO Alex Karp dismissed the idea, saying "If we were asked, we wouldn't do it."

Tom Brant

News reporter

Tom is PCMag's San Francisco-based news reporter. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Leadership

Former Interrogator Shares 5 Behaviors Liars Exhibit and How to Handle Them

Five deceptive behaviors to look for and how to respond to those behaviors when you encounter them.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Business Ideas

55 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.