Employee Sues Google; Claims Its Confidentiality Policies Violate California Labor Laws

Is Google running an internal "spying program" on its own employees? One of the employees has alleged that Google uses its confidentiality policies to stop employees from talking about its illegal practices.

This follows an allegation against Google for its confidentiality policies by one of its employees, who has filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in San Francisco, claiming that the policies violate California labor laws.

The complaint says that Google's confidentiality policies prohibit employees from speaking out about illegal activity within the company, even to its own lawyers. Further, the policies encourage employees to report other employees who are suspected of leaking information. It further claims that these confidentiality policies have been drafted with a goal to stop employees from handing sensitive information to the press. The suit also alleges that one of the co-founders at Google, at an all-hands meeting, warned employees of termination if anyone is found leaking confidential information.

"Google's motto is 'don't be evil.' Google's illegal confidentiality agreements and policies fail this test," the lawsuit reads. The suit also calls out a Securities and Exchange Commission guideline banning companies from preventing their employees from interacting with the agency about potential violations.

The lawsuit further states that the Code of Conduct at Google classifies "everything" at Google as confidential information. It also alleges that Google "suppresses information" about illegal products or regulatory-skirting practices.

In the meanwhile, a Google spokesperson has said that the lawsuit holds no merit. "We will defend this suit vigorously because it's baseless. We're very committed to an open internal culture, which means we frequently share with employees details of product launches and confidential business information," the statement reads.

According to one estimate, if found guilty of violating California labor law, Google could be fined up to $100 for every alleged violation proved correct, multiplied by its total number of employees. There are greater penalties for continuous violations. In totality, Google might end up coughing up $3.8 billion.