Alphabet Inc’s Google has announced that it will roll back requirements that U.S. suppliers and staffing firms pay their employees at least $15 an hour and provide health insurance and other benefits.
The elimination of the 2019 policy, along with other steps such as limiting access by temporary workers and vendors to internal systems, are designed to comply with shifting U.S. and global labor regulations related to contingent workers. A spokesperson for Google clarified that these updates bring Google in line with other large companies and simply clarify that Google is not, and has never been, the employer of its suppliers’ employees.
This announcement comes after the U.S. National Labor Relations Board in January ruled that Google was a so-called “joint employer” of workers provided by staffing firm Cognizant Technology Solutions and must bargain with their union. Google is appealing that decision.
The Google spokesperson also stated that the company will continue to enforce a supplier code of conduct that requires vendors and staffing firms to provide safe working conditions and meet existing legal obligations. Most of the company’s suppliers operate in states that mandate a minimum wage of at least $15.
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