MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Tech giant Alphabet Inc.'s (GOOGL) search engine company Google is using discriminatory policies against its contractors regarding Covid-testing. Reports claim that the company sends high-end and more efficient instant test kits to its full-time employees whereas the contract workers are made to use less-efficient test kits that take longer to deliver the results.
Alphabet Worker's Union tweeted a document that shows that the company sends its employees instant test kits from Cue Health Inc. The employees get one Cue device and 10 tests which cost $949 for customers. These test kits use genetic material present in the sample and deliver accurate results instantly. However, for the contract workers, the company sends PCR test kits by BioIQ which they have to mail to a lab for the results. The PCR tests are also not believed to be the most accurate ones as they depend on a few particular proteins to detect the presence of the virus.
Moreover, the employees of the company are allowed to work from home whereas the contract workers, vendors, and other temporary employees have to come to the office locations. Full-time employees can also request for up to 20 additional tests per month. The non-employees are also not allowed to have an extra computer monitor, unlike the employees. These highly discriminatory rules have made the headlines as Google has as many contract workers as they have permanent employees.
With the rapid spread of the omicron variant, the health infrastructure of the country has been left in shambles as the health sector is struggling to conduct tests on people. President Biden has asked the insurance providers to bear the cost of testing for their insurance holders as the country prepares 500 million free tests.
However, Google has claimed that the company provides multiple free testing options available for everyone working fr the company. 'We have many at-home and in-person viral testing options available free to our employees and members of our extended workforce, including temps and vendors,' a Google spokesperson said.
According to a document intercepted by Bloomberg, all employees, including temps and contract workers have access to Lucira Check It single-use rapid tests which cost $75. The company also claimed that the employees get cue readers at the offices and not at home. Apart from that, there also are many in-person testing options available at major locations like the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, and Seattle.
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