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The U.S. Department of Labor has just sued Google in an attempt to get the Mountain View tech giant to cough up compensation data for an audit of its compliance with federal labor laws.
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs had in September asked Google to submit particular information, according to a news release Jan. 4 from the labor department.
"As a federal contractor, Google must agree to permit the federal government to inspect and copy records and information relevant to its compliance with the equal employment laws," the labor department said.
"Despite many opportunities to produce this information voluntarily, Google has refused to do so. We filed this lawsuit so we can obtain the information we need to complete our evaluation."
Source: Bay Area News Group
https://www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/newsroom/newsreleases/OFCCP20162406_0.pdf
(Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Friday January 06 2017, @02:31AM
Its often hard to avoid falling into the Federal Contractor trap.
Remember when Obama called in all the big tech companies to get Obamacare systems up and running? Do your country what you thought was a favor - BAM: Federal Contractor.
Google Fiber runs past any Federal office, and they sign up? POW: Federal Contractor.
Even selling a commercial product that you manufacture to the Government can land you in the Federal Contractor heap.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday January 06 2017, @02:48AM
How is it a trap to accept my tax dollars?
If you don't want to sell to .gov, tell them. If you get my cash, you have to comply with the fine print.
If you don't like the fine print, either don't get the cash, or use the cash to make sure your congresscritter changes the fine print.
Not everyone gets to be Uber.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday January 07 2017, @07:35PM
How is it a trap to accept my tax dollars?
Spoken like somone who has never run a business bigger than a lemonade stand.
When accepting your tax dollars suddenly give your agents (the government) ridiculous amounts of control over my business its a trap.
If you came to me and purchased the same product, I'd take your money, you'd take the product, and that would be the end of it.
When your agent, the government buys the same product nothing is that easy.
Over the years we have refused direct sales to the government multiple times. We refer them to one of our resellers. (Who already
are set up to sell to government).
We explain that we aren't going to do 3 hours of paper work just to sell one piece of software. The government purchasing agents tells us they get that a lot, and they go to our resellers. They end up paying above retail. But it becomes an SEP for me. (Somebody Elses Problem).
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday January 09 2017, @08:59AM
So ... your point is that it's a trap, except that you've been avoiding the problem using a trivial solution.
Kind of a crummy trap.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Saturday January 14 2017, @01:30AM
We are a trivial company.
Google isn't. Any large size company probably can not avoid becoming a defacto government contractor.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 06 2017, @04:27AM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this only applies to contracts valued at more than $50,000. If a government employee walks into your hardware store and buys a hammer, that's not going to make you an official federal contractor. Unless they paid $50,000 for the hammer, which, being government, they might.
I would not sign up for a $50,000 (or larger) contract without knowing what I'm getting into. Google is just going to have to deal with it. If the costs of the extra compliance are more than the profit on the contract, well, you should have bid higher. Now you know why government costs so much.