Microsoft Is Sued for Alleged Racial, Sex Bias

Microsoft Corp. is being sued for allegedly using a subjective job evaluation process that discriminates against black and female employees. Microsoft, the world’s No. 1 software maker, “permits managers, who are predominantly white males, to rate employees based upon their own biases rather than based upon merit,” Monique Donaldson, a former program manager at Microsoft, claims. The twice-yearly evaluations are used to determine salaries, cash bonuses, stock option awards and promotions, according to the suit, which seeks class-action status. Microsoft spokesman Mark Murray declined to comment on the suit’s specifics, saying the company hasn’t seen it. Donaldson’s suit, filed in a federal court in Washington state, asks for unspecified damages and a court order prohibiting the allegedly wrongful practices. Shares of Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft fell $1.13 to close at $55.44 on Nasdaq.