“While the team hasn’t raised the comparison rate benchmarks for a few years, actual pay rates for temporary staff have increased multiple times in that period,” said Spyro Karetsos, Google’s chief compliance officer, it’s a statement. “Most temporary staff are paid significantly more than comparison rates.
“However, it is clear that this process has not been managed in a manner consistent with the high standards to which we as a company hold ourselves. We are doing a thorough review and are committed to identifying and addressing any salary discrepancies that the team has not yet addressed.
“And we will conduct a review of our compliance practices in this area. In short, we are going to find out what went wrong here, why it happened and we are going to correct it, “he said.
The situation could escalate even further after a whistleblower represented by Whistleblower Aid filed a complaint about the alleged violations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The problem would be that Google would not have disclosed the pay parity liabilities, which it estimates could amount to $ 100 million, which constitutes major errors in its quarterly financial reports, a violation of US securities law.
“The disclosure makes it clear that Google has not only violated labor laws around the world, but has misled investors about key legal and financial responsibilities,” said John Tye, founder and chief disclosure officer of Whistleblower Aid. “Anonymous and legal disclosure of the whistleblower is a critical step in ensuring that Google is held accountable. We urge the SEC to take legal action against Google and protect the rights of investors to receive complete and accurate information. “
Extended workforce
Google has a ” extended workforce “With more than 100,000 temporary employees, suppliers and contractors who are not directly hired by the company, but who perform work on its behalf, from food service and security to data encryption and analysis.
The company points out that these workers are “suppliers” who collaborate on long-term projects, as well as that they are completely managed by the supplier company and have little interaction with Google employees.
According to research from The Guardian, the departments that rely the most on temporary workers include recruiting, marketing and Waymo, Google’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary. Globally, Google spends about $ 800 million a year on temporary workers.
Although it is common that there are temporary workers in large companies, the worrying thing is that in Google they outnumber its direct employee base.