A complaint was filed with the National Labor Relations Board in Chicago claiming that Google unrightfully fired employees due to their involvement with a labor group. The terminations are said to have come after complaints were made against Google’s working conditions. The claim implicates Google for having regulations that keep staff from discussing their working conditions and discouraging them from joining labor groups.
Four Google software engineers also came forward on the same day the complaint was filed to say that they had been illegally terminated after bringing up questions regarding Google’s collaboration with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Google has come under fire for several other problems within the company. Twenty thousand Google workers protested the company’s sexual harassment policies by walking off the job. The walk-off was propelled by a New York Times piece which brought to light a $90 million exit package given to an executive by Google after a sexual harassment accusation.
The organizers of the walkout made five demands to help protect and prevent from sexual harassment in the workplace. The first demand was to end “Forced Arbitration” in harassment and discrimination cases as well as allowing victims to bring in a chosen supporter when meeting with human resources. Other demands included a firm plan to end pay and opportunity inequality, releasing sexual harassment reports, and a process for reporting sexual harassment. They also requested that an Employee Representative be appointed to the Board to ensure the demands were being met and future problems heard.
Google also reached a settlement with 227 people after being accused of age discrimination. The class action lawsuit claimed that Google discriminated against older people applying for jobs. The payout averaged to about $35,000 per person.
Part of the agreement required Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company) to enforce training on age bias for all of their employees. In an attempt to help age diversity, Alphabet Inc. was also required to develop a board with the purpose of imposing diversity when recruiting. The board is also in charge of thoroughly investigating complaints in regards to age bias.