Many Coloradoans who are fans of the search engine Google may be surprised to hear the accusations being brought forth about the Internet giant. A former Google contract recruiter who worked for the company in another state has filed a wage and hour claim against the company as well as against Urpan Technology — a staffing agency that works in conjunction to hire contract and temporary workers. The class action lawsuit that was filed in a superior court, accuses the defendants of several counts of wage theft.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff and others who were similarly situated would work as many as 12 hours per day. Reportedly, the recruiters would also regularly work the weekends. This equated to them working far more than 40 hours per week. The plaintiff claims that, because proper payroll records were not kept, they were not properly paid overtime.
The plaintiff alleges that she complained to her superior about the overtime issues, but was told that nothing could be done to change it. However, she then purportedly received a call from her supervisor’s boss, stating that the complaint she made was out of turn and that she should issue an apology — which she did for fear of being fired. A week later, the plaintiff was terminated. After the firing, the plaintiff maintains she was permitted to submit a report for the lost hours and that the defendants acknowledged that she was not paid properly, but still did not fully compensate her.
The woman is seeking unpaid wages and damages for herself and the other members of the affected class for the wage and hour claim. Google has been accused of similar violations in the past, which resulted in a private settlement. Individuals in Colorado work hard and expect to get paid for all the hours they work, including those that would be paid at overtime rates. Workers who complain about improper payment and continue to have their issues unresolved may consider discussing possible options for recourse with an employment law attorney.
Source: fastcompany.com, “Google Sued By Former Contract Recruiter For Withholding Pay“, Lydia Dishman, Jan. 28, 2016