Google Updates Misconduct Reporting Amid Employee Discontent

Google said Thursday it has updated the way it investigates misconduct claims — changes the company pledged to make after employees called for action last year.

The company is simultaneously facing backlash from two employees who say they faced corporate retaliation after helping to organising the November walkout protests.

Thursday's changes are designed to make it simpler for employees to file complaints about sexual misconduct or other issues. Google also issued guidelines to tell employees what to expect during an investigation, and added a policy that allows workers to bring along a colleague for support during the reporting process.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai promised to make these changes last fall after thousands of Google employees at company offices around the world briefly walked out to protest the company's handling of sexual misconduct investigations and payouts to executives facing misconduct allegations.

Google has already responded to some protester demands by ending mandatory arbitration and changing benefit rules for some temporary workers and contractors.

But organisers of the walkout say there is more to be done. Two organisers sent an internal email to some Google employees this week saying they had been retaliated against by the company after helping to put together the protests.

One employee said she was told to end her outside research work about artificial intelligence ethics. Another said she was effectively demoted before hiring a lawyer, when her work was then restored.

But she faces a "hostile" environment and considers quitting every day, she wrote in the email.

Google denied the retaliation claims, saying employees are regularly given new assignments as business needs change.

The walkout organisers are holding a virtual town hall Friday for Google employees to discuss retaliation claims.