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Google lawyers argued in court on Friday that the tech giant should not have to provide salary data until a first-ruling occurs on the class action status of the lawsuit. The case had been brought by former employees in September, on behalf of all female employees, charging the company with wide-spread pay inequality that took the form of denied promotions and redirecting women into lower-paying careers. The lawsuit builds on the case filed by the Department of Labor earlier this year which had charged the company with “extreme” pay discrimination and had sued the company for payroll records as part of its audit. The Mountain View-based company continues to insist that it is a leader on diversity and inclusion, but it has repeatedly stalled on providing evidence to federal prosecutors while trying to prevent media coverage on its DOL dispute; its strict confidentiality policies have been criticized for making it difficult for employees to speak up. The company’s lawyers have continued to argue that providing salary data for all employees was an overly broad request that was too onerous to fulfill, and that pay disparities may not be violations if they exist for a reason. The judge appeared to lean in Google’s favor Friday, stating tentatively that the scope of the case may be in question and that at this preliminary juncture, Google does not yet have to provide broader documents.