Google reportedly rolls out benefits for contractors, vendors, and temporary workers

Google is bringing benefits like health care, sick leave, and a $15 minimum wage to its temporary and contracted workers, the company announced in a memo on Tuesday.
The memo, obtained by The Hill, states that all of the companies that employ Google's temporary workers and contractors, known as "suppliers," will be required to provide those workers with a full benefits package, starting in 2020. The suppliers who are not able to guarantee the benefits to their workers by that deadline will not "be able to provide talent to Google," said a spokesperson for the company.
The tech giant has faced criticism for what some employees have called unequal treatment of full-time permanent workers and those working for Google on a contractual basis.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The memo doesn't reveal the exact number of temporary versus full-time workers at Google, but claims that 54 percent of its workers, 122,000 people, are temporary workers, contractors, and vendors.
Google is rolling out this new package for its workers in the U.S. first, The Hill notes, because there is "no government mandate" for temporary workers in the country.
Some of the benefits Google will require are a 12 weeks of parental leave, 8 sick days, and $5,000 in tuition reimbursement per year. Read more on Google's new policy at The Hill.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Shivani is the editorial assistant at TheWeek.com and has previously written for StreetEasy and Mic.com. A graduate of the physics and journalism departments at NYU, Shivani currently lives in Brooklyn and spends free time cooking, watching TV, and taking too many selfies.
-
The full moon calendar for every month
In depth When to see the lunar phenomenon every month
-
The end of Weight Watchers
Talking Point The diet brand has filed for bankruptcy in the US as it struggles to survive in era of weight-loss jabs
-
Trump vs. China: another tariff U-turn?
Today's Big Question Washington and Beijing make huge tariff cuts, as both sides seek 'exit ramp' from escalating trade war
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect
-
Chinese AI chatbot's rise slams US tech stocks
Speed Read The sudden popularity of a new AI chatbot from Chinese startup DeepSeek has sent U.S. tech stocks tumbling
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine