Stefan Mileschin

Used to silence whistleblowers

A California judge ruled this week that the confidentiality agreements Google requires its employees to sign are too broad and break the state's labour laws.

According to the Washington Post, the ruling could make it easier for workers at famously secret Big Tech firms to speak openly about their companies.

A Google employee identified as John Doe argued that the broad nondisclosure agreement the company asked him to sign barred him from speaking about his job to other potential employers, amounting to a non-compete clause, which are illegal in California.

The California Superior Court agreed with the employee, while declining to make a judgment on other allegations that Google's agreements blocked whistleblowing and sharing information about wages with other workers.

The ruling marks the latest victory for labour advocates who have sought to force Big Tech companies to relax the stringent confidentiality policies that compel employees to stay quiet about every aspect of their jobs, even after they quit.

https://fudzilla.com/news/54214-goog...ia-labour-laws