Google nixes carrying out the rest of motherhood and medical leave for laid-off workers

March 20, 2023: According to retired workers and written correspondence, Google points to ex-staffers who got laid off while on maternity and medical holidays that they won’t get paid for their remaining time off.

Over 100 former workers have organized a group called “Laid off on Leave.” They’re questioning executives to pay them for the weeks and months they were authorized to take off before the job cuts were stated in January. They said they’d been told they’ll only receive payment through their designated end date and standard severance.

The former employees sent a letter to executives, which include CEO Sundar Pichai and Chief People Officer Fiona Cicconi, on three separate functions, most recently on March 9, and have yet to receive an answer. The group includes people approving for or are currently on maternity, baby bonding, caregiver, medical, and personal leave.

Early last year, Google announced it would increase parental leave for full-time workers to 18 weeks for all parents and 24 weeks for birth parents. Cicconi said the firm wanted to offer “extraordinary benefits” so employees could “spend over with their new baby, look after a sick affectioned one or take care of their wellbeing.”

But Google parent Alphabet has entered its most high era of cost cuts in almost two decades on the public market. The company stated that it stood to eliminate 12,000 jobs, representing about 6% of its workforce, to reckon with slowing sales growth after an extended area of expansion in the tech sector.

Pichai stated that U.S.-based employees would get 16 weeks of severance pay plus dual weeks for each additional year they work at Google. The company also said to include paid time off in the severance.

Those laid off while on medical leave urge Pichai and other leaders to get immediate clarity on the matter as an upcoming deadline, official severance conditions are expected to arrive on March 31.

In January, the Laid off on Leave group sent its initial email to executives and shared specific examples of Google employees affected by the job slashing while on their approved leave.

One woman said she stated laid off a week after her maternity leave was approved. One more said she got notice while on maternity holiday, a week before she was due to give birth.