Google scraps minimum wage rules for suppliers

NEW YORK, Apr 22 (Reuters): Alphabet Inc's Google on Friday said it will roll back requirements that US suppliers and staffing firms pay their employees at least $15 an hour and provide health insurance and other benefits, a move that could allow the tech giant to avoid bargaining with unions.

The elimination of the 2019 policy, along with other steps such as limiting access by temporary workers and vendors to internal systems, are designed to comply with shifting US and global labour regulations related to contingent workers, a spokesperson for Mountain View, California-based Google told Reuters.

"These updates bring us in line with other large companies and simply clarify that Google is not, and has never been, the employer of our suppliers' employees," the spokesperson said.

The announcement comes after the US National Labour Relations Board in January ruled that Google was a so-called "joint employer" of workers provided by staffing firm Cognizant Technology Solutions and must bargain with their union. Google is appealing that decision.

The board relied in part on the 2019 policy, saying it allowed Google to exert control over the workers even though it does not employ them directly.