A Google product manager has filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing Google of engaging in illegal confidentiality agreements, practices, and policies.
Google employees are reportedly prohibited from discussing any illegal practices or dangerous product defects, even internally, out of concern that such talks could be used in legal discovery in case of litigation or obtained by the government.
No Talking Or Whistleblowing
The purported policies reportedly stand in violation of California laws and deny Googlers' right to speak, work or act as whistleblowers, or speak to attorneys, the government or the press about any issues within the company.
Employees are even prohibited from telling their friends or spouses whether they think their boss is doing a good enough job, alleges the complaint [PDF] filed on Tuesday, Dec. 20 in the Superior Court of California for the city and county of San Francisco.
The complaint further alleges that Google's policies prohibit employees from using or disclosing all of the knowledge, skills, acquaintances, and experience at Google when shifting to another employer. Google's confidentiality practices violate the California Labor Code, public policy, and the state's interests, adds the complaint.
Reporting Colleagues
According to the complaint, the Global Investigation Team at Google is also encouraging "volunteers" to rat out colleagues who might have discussed details about the company.
Moreover, a purported "Stopleaks" program reportedly requires Googlers to report any "strange things" they observe, such as someone asking for details regarding a Googler's job or project, the complaint further discloses.
In contrast, more than 600 tech employees, including Googlers, signed a "Never Again" pledge, vowing not to help build president-elect Donald Trump's Muslim registry on fears of mass deportations and genocide. Among a number of steps they promised to take, signatories also pledged to ask questions about their companies' practices, stay informed and report on any wrongdoing. The practices detailed in this complaint would make that impossible, since employees can't even talk to their spouses about their work.
Using Confidentiality And Other Policies For Illegal Purposes
Google's policies reportedly aim to control Google's current and former employees and limit competition, but they trump constitutional rights and prevent employees from reporting any wrongdoing or misconduct. According to the complaint, the company is using confidentiality and other policies for improper and illegal purposes not to protect trade secrets, consumer privacy or other data that should be protected under law.
John Doe vs Google
The employee filed the lawsuit anonymously, as John Doe, and also points a finger at Google's director of global investigations, intelligence and protective services, Brian Katz. According to the complaint, Katz has lied to roughly 65,000 Googlers telling them that the plaintiff was fired for leaking information to the press, without disclosing his name.
Google and Katz reportedly used the employee as a scapegoat to urge other Googlers to remain committed to the company's confidentiality policies, or else. The complaint asks that the plaintiff should not be required to "self-publish" his name.
Alleged Amendments
As The Information points out, the lawsuit follows a complaint the employee filed earlier this year with the Labor Workforce and Development Agency, which purportedly resulted in Google amending its policies to broaden employees' rights to discuss payment, schedule or other terms of employment, and to communicate law violations to government agencies.
However, the plaintiff claims those amendments were just fictional and in fact Google did not even tell employees about the changes. All practices and policies remained the same.
