![\"Google](\"https:\/\/image.cnbcfm.com\/api\/v1\/image\/106634080-1595868062406-GettyImages-1207206237.jpg?v=1629124528&w=929&h=523\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAmerican multinational technology company Google logo seen at Googleplex, the corporate headquarters complex of Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc.Alex Tai | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While judges review subpoenas in an almost year-long case<\/a> that pits Google<\/a> against its workers, former company employees are doing their part to highlight the intensifying tension between the two sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three ex-Google employees filed a lawsuit this week, accusing their former employer of terminating them for protesting a cloud deal that Google signed with the Trump administration\u2019s Customs and Border Patrol in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rebecca Rivers, Sophie Waldman and Paul Duke claim in the complaint that when they were hired by Google, they were asked to sign a contract that included the company\u2019s catchphrase clause \u201cDon\u2019t Be Evil.\u201d The plaintiffs say Google violated the agreement, and are asking for compensation and other relief for suffering \u201csignificant damage to reputation and ability to be gainfully reemployed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google parent Alphabet has little reason to be concerned financially \u2014 the company has over $140 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet and a market cap of about $1.9 trillion. But a string of employee walkouts, internal battles over how the company uses its artificial intelligence technology and lawsuits related to treatment of its workforce present a potentially severe strain<\/a> for a company that has long prided itself on a culture of openness and inclusivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last December, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board filed a complaint<\/a> against Google, alleging the company illegally terminated and surveilled employees in retaliation for their efforts to unionize. The trial has been paused for the last couple of months while judges review subpoenas, and it\u2019s unclear when it will resume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Laurie Burgess, the lawyer representing the former employees who sued Google this week, said the latest suit is meant in part to serve as \u201ca reminder that this is still alive and kicking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response, a Google spokesperson issued the following statement to CNBC on Saturday afternoon: \u201cAs we confirmed in 2019, like most companies, we engage dozens of outside consultants and law firms to provide us with advice on a wide range of topics, including employer obligations and employee engagement. This included IRI Consultants for a short period. We disagree with the Special Master\u2019s ruling which mischaracterizes various legally privileged materials and are reviewing our options.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This week, a judge on the NLRB case, Paul Bogas, ordered Google to unseal more than 70 documents related to its communications with IRI Consultants, which describes itself as a labor relations firm. The NLRB alleged that IRI was hired as part of Google\u2019s anti-union effort, which legal documents show was dubbed \u201cProject Vivian.\u201cBogas issued a 13-page response, stating that the company was \u201cdisingenuous,\u201d and that it tried to misrepresent the documents\u2019 classification.\u201cMy review did show that the Respondent made significant contemporaneous efforts to give this non-legal, 3rd-party, material the facial appearance of privileged communications,\u201d Bogas wrote. \u201cMany of these documents are, or involve the development of, campaign materials in which IRI provides antiunion messaging and message amplification strategies and training tailored to the Respondent\u2019s workforce and the news and social media environment.\u201cIn January, Google employees came together to\u00a0create<\/a>\u00a0the Alphabet Workers Union, which now includes more than 800 members. Though it currently represents less than 1% of the company\u2019s total workforce, the union is proving it intends to be vocal and active. It supported Google workers, employed by contracting firm Adecco, who just won a fight against the firm and Google after the company backtracked on a bonus program for temp workers in data centers.\u201cThe union definitely strengthened people\u2019s resolve to standing up for the fight,\u201d Ned McNally, a temp worker at Google\u2019s data center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, told\u00a0The New York Times<\/a>\u00a0last month after the victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n source: cnbc.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s Google’s new corporate edict. I’m kidding of course. Google actually dropped the ‘Don’t be evil.’ concept years ago- an indication that the search giant has a vast capability to BE evil (which it efficiently does constantly, while not only controlling ~90% of internet search but nearly 60% of all servers worldwide), and understands this … Read moreGoogle, ‘Do Be Evil’<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","pmpro-has-access"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smashomash.com\/smashteam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}