Google Faces Class Action Suit For Exploiting Contract Workers

Source: Gawker

Google has become the latest tech company hit with a lawsuit for exploiting contract workers. Reuters reports that a class action suit has been filed against Google, alleging the company misclassified employees as independent contractors. The plaintiff behind the suit also alleges he was refused the overtime wages and was not paid for all the time spent working.

In the latest case against Google, plaintiff Jacob McPherson said he began work in 2013 at $35 per hour as a "site merchandiser for magazines" in the Google Play unit. He was classified as a freelancer and paid through an outside agency, the lawsuit said, although he worked in Google's New York offices.

McPherson was limited to billing 30 hours a week but worked more than that. Google declined to pay him for those extra hours, nor for any overtime over 40 hours a week. Google eventually terminated his contract after he asked for more hours to be covered in the contract, the lawsuit said.

This is the second lawsuit to come to light this week accusing a tech company of abusing the independent contractor employment model. Freelancers are commonly used by on-demand service startups like Uber and Taskrabbit, but larger companies also use contractors to fill office positions. Earlier this week, Valleywag discovered Handy was the target of a lawsuit filed by former contractors, claiming they were denied minimum wages.

Read more: http://valleywag.gawker.com/google-faces-class-action-suit-for-exploiting-contract-1658997119/+nitasha