Google’s temporary workforce will start getting full benefits

Google said on Tuesday it will require temporary and contracted workers receive full benefits from companies it works with in the coming years. The benefits will include comprehensive health care, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, a minimum wage of $15 an hour, and $5,000 a year in tuition reimbursement, according to a Google spokesperson. In order to continue doing business with Google (GOOG), companies will have until January 2020 to meet the minimum wage requirement and until 2022 to roll out comprehensive health care. The policy change, which was first reported by The Hill, will affect Google’s extended US workforce, which includes vendors who work for companies that are contracted by Google, independent contractors, and temporary staff. The move comes after months of protests from Google’s “shadow workforce” of temporary workers, vendors and contractors who say they are treated unfairly. These workers have challenged their working conditions and Google’s ethics. “Providing tens of thousands of workers with family-supporting benefits, healthcare coverage, parental leave and a $15 minimum wage is a huge win for the thousands of janitors, food service workers, shuttle bus drivers and other contract workers who organized protests, petitions and walkouts over past few years,” Maria Noel Fernandez, campaign director for advocacy group Silicon Valley Rising, told CNN Business in a statement. In December, temporary workers wrote an open letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, calling out what they believe is the unfair treatment they receive compared with regular employees. “We do essential work, from marketing, to running engineering teams, to feeding you and the rest of the Google staff — all without fair benefits or recognition,” the letter said. “Google cannot function without us.”