Google to require full benefits for temporary workers

Google said on Tuesday it will require its contracted and temporary workforce to receive full benefits, including comprehensive health care, paid parental leave and a $15 minimum wage, according to an internal memo provided exclusively to The Hill.

The internet search giant’s vice president of people operations, Eileen Naughton, said in the memo to employees that Google will require that the workers receive the benefits by 2022.

Google’s announcement comes the same day that a group of 915 Google workers signed on to a letter demanding equal treatment for the company’s temporary workers and contractors, known internally as “TVCs.”

The letter, also obtained by The Hill, claims that temporary workers and contractors account for 54 percent of Google’s workforce, or 122,000 positions. Google declined to share how many of its employees are contractors and how many are full-time employees.

For years, Google employees have raised concerns that the company’s workplace is stratified, with temporary workers and contractors receiving lower pay and fewer benefits than permanent employees.

Google will now require that the outside companies employing the workers provide them with comprehensive health care, a minimum wage of $15 per hour, 12 weeks of parental leave and a minimum of eight days of sick leave.